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Mars Soil Frustrates Phoenix Again

Posted by timothy on from the pulling-out-doesn't-sound-manly dept.

Tablizer writes "The Phoenix Mars lander has been frustrated yet again by Mars's odd soil. The wet nature of the soil they are targeting appears to have made it get stuck in the scoop rather than drop into the oven. Past problems with similarly clumpy soil may have damaged the lander because the vibrator had to be used longer than it was designed for, resulting in a short circuit."

4 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. Definition of 'wet'? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What exactly is 'wet' about the soil? I see that the soil is icy (H2O ice or CO2 ice?), but as far as I knew 'wet' and 'icy' are mutually exclusive. Perhaps 'sticky' would be a better term? Or... is this some kind of cool ice that is 'wet' at very cold temperatures as opposed to good old fashioned dry ice?

  2. All that money.. by handmedowns · · Score: 4, Interesting

    And we couldn't implement "ice-cream" scoop technology =P

    --
    The road between democracy and tyranny is paved with secrecy in the name of security.
  3. Re:Inadequate testing? by emeade · · Score: 3, Interesting

    After the loss of the first vehicle, they did extensive testing. The whole Phoenix story is truly rising from the ashes, and very interesting. I think it was on the Discovery channel.

    My first thought was gravity as well, though I'd think we have enough physics simulations that we could at least do simulated testing under low grav. Looking at the homepage for Phoenix, it looks like they are looking into heat caused by the rasping might be contributing to the problem. Digging holes on Mars just isn't the same as digging them in your backyard, at least not yet.

  4. Re:One sad conclusion by KingRobot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Phoenix was built by the UofA... No wet, clumpy soil in AZ.