As Canadians prepare for colder temperatures in the coming weeks, some may be surprised by an early snowfall 672,000 km away. The Meteorological Weather Station on the Phoenix Mars Lander has discovered the presence of falling snow in the Martian atmosphere using a Canadian-developed instrument.
"The snow is more like diamond dust, or small flakes," said Peter Taylor, professor of atmospheric science at York University and one of the members of the Canadian Metrological Weather Station (MET) team. "So far, we've only detected its presence in the planet's upper atmosphere [and not on the surface] since it tends to sublimate while descending into varying warmer temperatures."
The Phoenix Lander, currently stationed near the northern arctic region of Mars, was able to make the discovery with its Canadian-made LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) instrument. The LIDAR tool emits a precision-guided laser into the Martian atmosphere to determine the size and composition of overhead particles.
"This was a big engineering challenge," said Alain Berinstain, director of planetary exploration and space astronomy at the Canadian Space Agency. "We're talking about putting a delicate instrument in temperatures that can change the shape of most objects. Not only that, the laser beam that reflects off the Martian clouds has to align perfectly back to a small telescope on the Lander."
The Lander's meteorological operations, headed by principal researcher Professor Jim Whiteway of York University, marks the first time Canadians have led a research mission to a foreign planet's surface. Along with the Canadian Space Agency, Toronto firm Optech Inc. and Brampton, Ontario-based MDA Space Missions provided much of the technological backbone for the construction of the LIDAR instrument. Scientists at the University of Alberta and Dalhousie University also contributed their technical expertise to the instrument.
The new findings provide some further clues for possible signs of life on the Red Planet.
"[The snow] has some important implications about a functioning water cycle on Mars. That's one of the things we look for when determining the possible presence of life," Taylor said.
In July 2008, scientists confirmed reports of ice under the Martian ground surface after the Lander's robotic arm dug a five centimetre hole into planet's soil. The Lander, however, has yet to find signs of liquid water, which is essential for living cell functions.
The new discovery comes as a rare and unexpected opportunity for scientists who estimated a mission period of approximately 90 Martian days (or sols). The solar-powered Lander, now in its 120th day of operation, will soon lose its main source of power when the region becomes engulfed in darkness until the spring.
The Lander's current position on Mars is not so different from environments found in parts of northern Canada. Situated in the high arctic region of Nunavut, McGill's own Arctic Research Station (MARS) is regularly used by NASA to perform tests in comparable planetary conditions.
"The moon, and to a greater extent, Mars, are both extreme environments analogous to the [Earth's] Arctic," said McGill Professor Peter Radziszewski. "These sites present certain characteristics that are quite similar including intense temperature variations ranging from -60 C to 150 C."
Formerly with the Canadian Space Agency, Radziszewski is currently experimenting with wheel designs for lunar-based rovers and remains one of a handful of McGill researchers who are looking to build stronger ties with the CSA.
Still, Canadians can expect more red-and-white flags in the next phases of Mars research.
"We'll be providing NASA with a device called the [Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer] on their next Mars launch in 2009," Berinstein said.
The APXS device will allow scientists to measure the chemical elements of the Mars soil surface-a project currently led by University of Guelph physicist Ralf Geffert. This time, however, the Mars Science Laboratory will be a nuclear-based, mobile land rover instead of a solar-powered, stationary unit like its predecessor. The new Rover is expected to launch on September 15, 2009.
The Phoenix Mars Lander mission is headed by the University of Arizona and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Updated weather conditions on the Martian surface can be found at: http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix.asp
2008 Woodie Awards
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jessica
posted 10/07/08 @ 8:30 AM EST
I got my current event here
Post a Comment