mars express 'divining rod' mission delayed - battery power storage
According to mission scientists, Maggie mckea's slender radar antenna-which may find Groundwater on Mars-will not be deployed on European Mars Express ships until at least March 2005.
This means that the experiment was delayed for about a year due to concerns of 40-metre-
When deployed, the long sky line may hit the spacecraft.
Main antenna of MARSIS (
Mars Advanced Radar for underground and high level detection)
By two 20-metre-
Long fiberglass tube with shower rail width.
It will serve as a divination stick, looking for water several kilometers deep underground.
The folded tube is scheduled to pop up from both ends of the storage box on the side of the orbiter in April 2004.
This was delayed because the computer simulated a similar antenna called Sharad, which will be sent to Mars on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on August 2005, indicating that the cold temperature in space may be an antenna.
This can swing the segments and break them back-impact the craft or wrap around the key components.
Until recently, scientists had hoped that MARSIS would deploy by the end of November.
But the European Space AgencyESA)
After a meeting with NASA, which runs the project in October 5, officials are now delaying the matter as early as possible.
William Johnson, manager of MARSIS, said: "In order for us to say that it is benign or that it may have an impact, we have to do more analysis . " Physicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJPL)
Pasadena, California.
Scientists at NASA and antenna maker's Astro Aerospace in Carpinteria, California, expect to complete physical testing of the antenna in a few days.
A few weeks of computer modeling will follow, including the results of the test.
ESA should then rule on when they deploy MARSIS, if any.
So far, the results have been mixed.
Using antenna tubes and complete samples
The marmarsis model, folded up before the start of the mission on June 2003, the team vacuum-
Chamber of Commerce test-100 °C.
To their delight, they found that the antenna had less energy than expected.
But it is also easier to buckle, making it difficult to predict the exact behavior of the deployment.
The antenna will extend to its full length in a few seconds, and it will take about 30 seconds to stabilize before slowly swinging for a few minutes, Johnson said.
The ongoing simulation will provide an estimate of the possibility of an antenna hitting a spacecraft. But each 20-
The weight of the M tube is less than 1 kg.
"So even if it's hit hard, it might not hurt anything," Johnson told the New Scientist . ".
"But it may not be good enough.
"Everyone is supporting us to start the experiment, but we are cautious," said the experimental cooperation organization.
Jeff Pratt, the leader of NASA's JPL.
"There is hope that it will change our view of Mars," he added . ".
So far, almost all the water found on Mars has been locked in polar ice, and if evenly distributed on Earth, the depth of polar ice is only a few tens of meters.
But the huge canyons and other features that seem to have been carved by ancient waters show that the hypothetical layers used to be 1 to 2 kilometers deep.
Pratt said colon cancer.
"One of the top issues with Mars is & colon;
Where did all the water go?
"While some of the water may be flooded with space, the rest may be underground.
If it lurks at the top of the crust 5 km, MARSIS can find it.
Plaut told the New Scientist that the presence of Martian water "has an impact on possible human habitation ".
Colonizers can drill to dig it, or surface springs can be generated by natural construction events.
"We know that groundwater on earth is the environment of microorganisms-it also links work with life issues," Plaut said . ".
March may be the next best opportunity for deployment, as the Mars Express will be on every 6-6 from January to 3-
An hour of orbit runs, forcing the spacecraft to rely on batteries instead of solar energy-which could fail.