[meteorite-list] Christmas Day Mars Landing (Beagle 2)

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:01 2004
Message-ID: <3FE27ECF.5090203_at_fascination.com>

Dear John, List;
I hope they find frozen petrified stromatoites (like the ones listed on
ebay) ;-).

  ....That is if the parachutes work, and the batteries don't freeze.
Hope it lands right side up and the antennae do not break off.
Lets see, that is four of a zillion things that could go wrong.

Still a very long way to go to answer your questions....

Dave F. (wishing)
ebay user ID mjwy

j.divelbiss_at_att.net wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I've been wondering what these three vehicles are going to find and get
>reported back to NASA and others.
>
>Will limited sampling of Mars rock specimens be enough proof to
>match/validate our SNAC meteorites?...that is SNC's plus the Allan Hills find.
>
>Will the range of igneous rock types grow expanding our understanding of that
>planet's development? Assuming more diversity is found in the testing?
>
>Will other minerals be found that we haven't seen in SNACs?
>
>Will they find sedimentary samples, or just igneous based?
>
>And not to forget, that water and life thing too?
>
>Does anyone know when the information will start flowing to the public or
>lists like this one...Ron Baalke, do you know when we will hear anything?
>
>This should be good stuff,
>
>John
>
>>http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/17dec_beagle2.htm
>>
>>Christmas Day Mars Landing
>>NASA Science News
>>December 17, 2003
>>
>>In search of alien life, the European Space Agency's Beagle 2
>>probe will parachute to the surface of Mars on Dec. 25th.
>>
>>December 17, 2003: It's wintertime in the northern hemisphere of Mars,
>>and a flying saucer is about to land.
>>
>>Back on Earth where it comes from, the craft is known as the Beagle 2,
>>sent to Mars by the European Space Agency in search of life. More
>>accurately, the Beagle 2 will be looking for chemical traces of
>>life--telltale signs that life once existed, or perhaps, exists right
>>now on the red planet.
>>
>>Touchdown is scheduled for Christmas Day 2003. The Beagle 2 will precede
>>two NASA rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, slated to land in January.
>>
>>Named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin, the Beagle 2 is a
>>self-contained laboratory shaped like a saucer, or a pocket watch, about
>>three feet in diameter. Although it carries many powerful scientific
>>tools, it weighs a mere 70 pounds. Being so light and compact, the
>>Beagle 2 was able to hitch a ride to Mars onboard the ESA's Mars Express
>>spacecraft launched last June.
>>
>>While Mars Express, an orbiter, surveys the planet from a few hundred
>>miles up, the Beagle 2 will be able to stick its devices right into
>>Mars, sampling rocks and soil on the surface and below. NASA's Everett
>>Gibson, the interdisciplinary scientist for the Mars Express/Beagle 2
>>mission, explains: "We have two [ways] to get samples: a rock abrasion
>>tool, and a burrowing mole." Both are embedded in the Beagle's robotic arm.
>>
>>"The rock abrasion tool goes right up against a rock, removes its
>>weathered surface, and can continue to go in and take out a little
>>core--about 20 to 100 milligrams of sample," he says. The ability to
>>remove the surface of a rock is important, as scientists learned when
>>NASA's Sojourner rover scrutinized Mars rocks in 1997. They all looked
>>much the same because their surfaces had been weathered by dusty winds
>>and solar radiation. Beagle 2 will be able to sample the variety that
>>lies within.
>>
>>The other tool, "the mole," is able to reach as far as two meters from
>>the Beagle 2 and drill down about one and a half meters, gathering
>>samples in its hollow mouth. Just like the core samples collected from
>>inside rocks, Everett explains, soil found underground will have been
>>shielded from, and less altered by, solar ultraviolet radiation. In
>>these more protected samples, indications of life may be more likely to
>>exist.
>>
>>As samples are collected, they'll be brought back into the Beagle and
>>heated in one of the lab's ovens. Gases released by this process will be
>>analyzed by a mass spectrometer.
>>
>>The Beagle will check for biological signatures by, in part, looking
>>carefully at the types of carbon that it finds. Basically, carbon comes
>>in both a lighter variety -- carbon-12 -- and a heavier variety --
>>carbon-13. On Earth, things that are alive tend to prefer the lighter
>>kind. They use more carbon-12 in their metabolism. If the spectrometer
>>identifies a sample containing more carbon-12 than would be expected in
>>an inorganic sample of soil, that might be a sign that life had once
>>dwelled there.
>>
>>The spectrometer will also check the atmosphere for traces of methane.
>>This gas can be produced by living creatures. On Earth it comes from
>>sources such as termites, cows, and swamps; on Mars it might come from
>>extreme-loving microbes. Methane on Mars should be destroyed quickly,
>>probably within a matter of months, by the planet's strong ultraviolet
>>radiation. This means that if Beagle 2 detects any methane, something
>>must have created it very recently. If the Beagle 2 can find methane,
>>says Gibson, "it will go a long way to answering that key question: Are
>>biological processes operating on Mars?"
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>On December 19, the Mars Express orbiter will eject the Beagle. From
>>then on, the little laboratory is on its own.
>>
>>On Christmas Day it will hit the Martian atmosphere at a speed of about
>>12 thousand miles per hour. The resistance of the atmosphere will begin
>>to slow it down, as a shield protects it from the heat of descent. A
>>series of parachutes will emerge, each slowing the Beagle even more. At
>>200 meters above the surface, three gas-filled airbags will inflate to
>>cushion its landing.
>>
>>The Beagle is expected to touch down within the Isidis Planitia Basin.
>>The landing site is at a low enough elevation to allow Mars' thin
>>atmosphere enough time to slow the Beagle down. There are also some
>>indications that Isidis Planitia contains ice, making it a promising
>>place to look for signs of life.
>>
>>Once the Beagle lands, it will open up, like a pocket watch. Four solar
>>panels will emerge, and begin charging its batteries. It will send a
>>signal saying that it's arrived.
>>
>>"When the Beagle lands," says Gibson, "we won't know immediately,
>>because we have to wait till Odyssey passes over." Odyssey is a NASA
>>spacecraft that's been orbiting Mars for the past two years. "The signal
>>from the Beagle will hopefully be detected by Odyssey," says Gibson.
>>Odyssey will send that signal on. And, about four to six hours after the
>>Beagle lands, its first message should reach the Earth--hopefully the
>>first of many.
>>
>>The Beagle will continue its mission for about six months, collecting
>>data and transmitting it back to Earth via the orbiters Mars Express and
>>Odyssey.
>>
>>Stay tuned for more Science_at_NASA stories in the weeks ahead about NASA's
>>Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and the intriguing places they will
>>visit on the red planet.
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Thu 18 Dec 2003 11:30:07 PM PST