YM COLUMN ARCHIVE

May 29, 2008

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on Mars

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander that left earth in August last year landed on Martian surface on May 25, 2008. This time the Lander did not use beach-ball-like cushion effect but succeeded in soft landing by using thrusters for the first time in thirty-two years since Viking. This is the third time success since Viking No. 1 and 2. Mars Polar Lander attempted to land on Mars in 1999 but was lost due to widely known so-called differences of interpretation. As looking back at landing history of Mars probes, Phoenix has just made landing success ratio finally reaching 50%.

Well, Mars appears to be unexpectedly difficult planet to land on. Solar battery was confirmed to be normally working after the landing and it was also confirmed that Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) going around the Mars captured the image of Phoenix descending with its parachute opened. As Phoenix took only seven minutes to land on Martian surface after atmospheric entry, camera shooting can be safely said just the luckiest happening. The distance from shooting site to earth is 250 million kilometers, which means to take fifteen minutes for the image to reach the earth.

Phoenix landed on the North Pole of Mars for the first time in history. Phoenix’s mission purpose is very ambitious such as discovering the evidence of existence of liquid water in past by digging down the thick (water) ice believed to be layered under the Polar soils, which may lead to the potentiality of finding the traces of lives or existence of surviving lives. Phoenix already transmitted the remarkable black-and-white images of Polar area relayed by way of Mars Odyssey Orbiter flying over Mars. From those images it is presumed that the complicated-shaped cracks on the Martian surface appear to be the terrain that would have been caused by the expansion and contraction of the water ice. I hope it is not too much wishful thinking. Phoenix is going to struggle with the Martian land at least for coming three months. Let us be looking forward to having more of fresh data from Phoenix.

Although it may be a kind of old news now, the terrain camera onboard Japanese spacecraft KAGUYA took the photo of whitish trace called “Halo” that was made by injection gas of Apollo 15 on its taking off from the moon. It is a little bit ambiguous by just glancing at the picture but careful study of several photos can tell that it is undoubtedly the trace left by Apollo. KAGUYA is now flying over the altitude 100km and resolution ratio of the terrain camera is said to be 10 meters of lunar surface. In fact, the legs of Apollo all spread out are 9 meters from one to the opposite. On the condition that the rest of KAGUYA’s mission goes smoothly and enough fuel is still left a year later, it is under consideration now to let KAGUYA observe lunar surface at the altitude as low as 50km, then it might be possible to take the picture of the Lander, not just “Halo”. It will be really a fun.

And now, KU-MA (Kodomo Uchu Mirai Association) is going to be officially set up on coming June 1. We are now rapidly preparing our website and all others. In the beginning we may start rather slowly, but I hope our activities will be eventually surging to spread out to every corner of this country with the help of all yours. I will let you know further in details. I’m expecting your full support given us, please.

I welcome your opinions on this column to the following E-mail address.
matogawa@planetary.or.jp