The hunt for evidence of life on Mars will go underground next year when a NASA probe digs beneath the surface of the red planet’s arctic northern plains, US scientists have revealed.
In a departure from previous missions — which have seen robotic vehicles explore the planet’s hills and craters — NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander will instead dig into Martian soil for conditions favourable to past or present life.
US scientists want Phoenix to try and determine whether frozen water near the planet’s surface might periodically melt enough to sustain a viable environment for microbes.
“Phoenix will complement our strategic exploration of Mars by being our first attempt to actually touch and analyse Martian water — water in the form of buried ice,” said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Programme, on Monday.
Phoenix will blast off from Florida sometime in
August, beginning a journey that will end several million miles and around nine months later with a risky descent and landing.
Once safely in position on the Martian surface,
Phoenix will deploy a set of advanced research tools never before used on the planet.
The solar-powered craft is equipped with a 2.3 m robotic arm that will go vertically into the soil, aiming to strike the icy crust that is believed to lie within a few inches of the surface.