Nasa life hunter closes in on Mars: related news

Life Found a Mile Below Terrestrial Seabed; Implications For Life on Mars

We all know how hard life can be, but spare a thought for the microbes recently discovered 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) below the seabed off the coast of Canada. The living conditions are cramped, the environment is a searing 100°C (212F), and yet these hardy cells appear to be thriving. In the midst of the historic landing of Phoenix in the arctic wastes of Mars yesterday, the interest in finding life on the Red Planet has, yet again, reached fever pitch. Although Phoenix isn't built to look for life, it is assessing the Martian surface water content for signs that it may (or may have been able to) support life. This new discovery of life so deep below the Earth's surface may set some new limits on just how extreme life can be on other planets…

Unidentified Phoenix Mars Lander scientists celebrate after the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft landed successfully in the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole.

Phoenix Mars Lander scientists celebrate after the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft landed successfully in the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole at the mission control room of the Jet Propulsion lab in Pasadena, California May 25, 2008. The scientists are (L-R) Barry Goldstein, JPL project manager for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, Ed Sedivy, Phoenix spacecraft manager, Lockheed Martin, Phoenix principal investigator, Peter Smith (white hair) of the University of Arizona and Fuk Li, manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program. [Agencies]

NASA Mars Phoenix Landing Area Viewed by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Color Imager

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to land on the Martian northern plains near 68 degrees north latitude, 127 degrees west longitude on May 25, 2008. In preparation for the landing, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been monitoring weather in the region around the landing site. On April 20, 2008, the orbiter's Mars Color Imager camera captured this view of a large region of northern Mars that includes the landing target area in the lower right quadrant.

Imminent Discovery of Life On Mars?

Life on Mars?Do you think there is life on Mars? Do you think Phoenix will find evidence of it? Now there's a blog that's trying to collect a snapshot of the opinions of scientists, amateurs, and everyday people. "Imminent Discovery" thinks Phoenix may find simple life. Finding this evidence will definitely become headlines… If it happens. Is it possible it might have originated from earth? Perhaps from space, like the famous Antarctica meteorite which was believed to contain evidence of life transported here from Mars?

NASA: Mars lander's arm delayed to move

In this artist's illustration obtained from NASA on May 23, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is seen on the surface of Mars after landing. After traveling for almost 10 months, Mars Phoenix Lander successfully landed on the Red Planet Sunday on a mission to explore signs of life, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Nasa life-hunter closes in on Mars

A spaceship capable of detecting the first signs of life on Mars was this weekend being prepared for the final course corrections before its touchdown on the red planet.

NASA probe confirms ice on Mars

NASA scientists say photos sent from Mars by the Phoenix Lander confirm ice on the red planet. The presence of water is crucial for research because it helps answer questions on whether life forms, perhaps microbes, exist or existed on Mars. Phoenix dug a trench near Mars' north pole and a sequence of photos shows eight white chucks slowly vanishing. Over the next few weeks Phoenix will analyse the Martian soil and look for organic material. In 2002 another unmanned craft, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter first detected what's thought to be a vast sheet of ice under the barren polar surface.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Relays Second-Day Information From NASA Mars Lander

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully received information from the Phoenix Mars Lander Tuesday evening and relayed the information to Earth. The relayed transmission included images and other data collected by Phoenix during the mission's second day after landing on Mars.

NASA spacecraft closes in on Mars

A three-legged NASA spacecraft was closing in on Mars yesterday for what scientists hope will be the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole to study whether the permafrost could have supported primitive life.

NASA spacecraft closes in on Mars; aims for historic landing near north pole

A three-legged NASA spacecraft was closing in on Mars Sunday for what scientists hope will be the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole to study whether the permafrost could have supported primitive life.

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NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has a scoop on the end of its Robotic Arm. A motor-driven rasp can be lowered at an angle through a small opening in the bottom of the scoop to aid in gathering shavings of hard-frozen material. In this image, Lori Shiraishi, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, inspects the scoop while the spacecraft was being assembled and tested before its Aug. 4, 2007, launch. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

NASA spacecraft closes in on Mars; aims for historic landing near north pole

PASADENA, California - A three-legged NASA spacecraft was closing in on Mars Sunday for what scientists hope will be the first-ever touchdown near Mars' north pole to study whether the permafrost could have supported primitive life.

Help Find the Mars Polar Lander

NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander is just a few weeks away from landing on the surface of Mars. NASA really hopes that this spacecraft doesn't fallow in the doomed path of the previous Mars Polar Lander. What happened to the Mars Polar Lander? Nobody knows. NASA assumes it's smashed up somewhere on the surface of the Red Planet. Now you can help search for it, by looking through high resolution images of the potential crash site.

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander: Exploring the arctic plains of Mars

Photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, this picture shows the Phoenix Mars Lander on its final descent on to the red planet. This image has been brightened to show the landscape of Mars in the background. This is one of the first images broadcast from the Phoenix after landing on the surface of Mars. It shows the tiny pebbles and polygonal cracking of the Martian landscape. The same image is seen here, brightened to Earth day standards. This black and white image shows a region of polygonal cracking in the Martian ground. This cracking occurs in a similar fashion in the icy ground of the Arctic regions of Earth. Here the image is converted to full colour, showing red Martian ‘soil’. The Phoenix lander photographs its own footpad to check stability.

Mars rover unleashes robotic arm

Washington - The Phoenix Mars Lander has released its robotic arm to begin prodding the Red Planet's surface to look for chemistry that could support life, NASA officials said Thursday. NASA officials hope the robotic arm can poke into the surface to substantiate evidence of ice or water in the northernmost areas of Mars that could have supported life. Chemical compositions can be analyzed aboard the craft and the results beamed back to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA says Phoenix lander's arm delayed to move

In this artist's illustration obtained from NASA on May 23, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is seen on the surface of Mars after landing. After traveling for almost 10 months, Mars Phoenix Lander successfully landed on the Red Planet Sunday on a mission to explore signs of life, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). (Xinhua Photo)

Seeking Signs of Ancient Martian Life

StonyandCher writes in about a collaboration between NASA and a leading Australian exploration and mining scientist, Dr. Brent McInnes, to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. The plan is to develop and miniaturize the "Alphachron" — an exploration technology currently employed by the Australian minerals industry to determine the age of minerals. If the Alphachron can be miniaturized, it could fly with the next rover mission set for launch in 2010. "The highest priority is to understand when liquid water was present on Mars. 'The same minerals that can be found in [Western Australia]... can also be found on Mars,' McInnes said. Accordingly, by using the Alphachron to date minerals on Mars and thus tell when liquid water may have been present, it can be inferred when life may have been sustainable near the surface of the planet.

Mars Water-Life Connection Tenuous, Scientists Say

The Phoenix Mars Lander has found definitive proof of the presence of water on Mars. Could a discovery of life be far behind? Not necessarily, say the experts. While water is necessary for life, it's also pretty common. A lot more also has to be there for life to be a possibility.

NASA's historical Mars exploration missions

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- NASA's latest Mars exploration spacecraft the Phoenix Lander is set to touch down in the Mars arctic region on Sunday. The following is a brief introduction to NASA's past Mars missions:

NASA Goes Wild as Phoenix Mars Rover Scores Touchdown

The Phoenix Mars probe touched down Sunday, marking the first time in 32 years that NASA has landed a craft on the planet using retrorockets. The Phoenix will take the next few days to prepare its instruments for its mission to seek out whether Mars has what it takes to support life. The craft is designed to explore Mars' northern polar region.

NASA Phoenix Mission Ready For Mars Landing

Several readers relayed the press release from JPL about the upcoming landing of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on May 25. It's going to set down in the north polar regions and look for indications of whether conditions have even been favorable for microbial life. "Phoenix will enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at almost 21,000 kilometers per hour... In seven minutes, the spacecraft must complete a challenging sequence of events to slow to about 8 kilometers per hour... before its three legs reach the ground. Confirmation of the landing could come as early as 7:53 p.m. EDT. 'This is not a trip to grandma's house. Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky,' said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Backgrounder: NASA's historical Mars exploration missions

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- NASA's latest Mars exploration spacecraft the Phoenix Lander is set to touch down in the Mars arctic region on Sunday. The following is a brief introduction to NASA's past Mars missions:

Backgrounder: NASA's historical Mars exploration missions

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- NASA's latest Mars exploration spacecraft the Phoenix Lander is set to touch down in the Mars arctic region on Sunday. The following is a brief introduction to NASA's past Mars missions:

NASA begins releasing robotic arm of Mars lander

This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows Mars' surface from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Tuesday May 27, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

NASA lander in OK shape, photo caught Mars landing

This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows the surface of the northern polar region of Mars from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Sunday May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

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