Phoenix, the Victim of the Cold

 

 

Reflection: #034

Phoenix, the Mars lander, brought much joy to our homes. Every day, we saw new pictures from around it, even though Phoenix did not move from its place. The discovery of ice under its metal legs was thrilling.  Snowstorms and dust storms, even dense clouds passing over it, and the strong wind that made it tremble were impressive.

It didn't seem very scientific—and looked more like a piece of cake—when they tried to dump soil samples into a hermetically sealed container.

It was required to control this remotely, with the time delay from Earth.

The flap through which the small amount was to fall into the container did not open—or opened too little—and the sample material remained on top for hours, exposed to the atmosphere.

Actually, the material was supposed to be heated inside the chamber, and during evaporation, sensors were to analyze the atoms—especially for hydrogen content.

This work failed, at least in the first attempt.  Imagine the opposite: Someone from Mars comes to us, lands on a thick layer of ice, and starts digging with a shovel from a toy store. Then they throw a sample of our soil onto a sealed object.

Although the images already indicate the presence of hydrogen, they deny the possibility that water in the soil is in one of its states.

NASA did this on Mars: They took a sample from the ground, but it remained there for days because it couldn't get through the filter.

This experiment was designed so that some earth crumbs would fall into the chamber, and the chamber would be closed immediately.

So the hydrogen would not have had time to evaporate. But in reality, some crumbs were too big to fall inside.

Only after a few days was it possible to open and close the chamber again after the sample had fallen into it.

So, of course, what they wanted to avoid happened: The hydrogen, if present, had too much time to evaporate.  Finally, they had an analysis but did not publish the result.

First, they had to ask the then-President of the United States, Mr. Bush, whether they could publicly say what elements had come to light in the analysis.  Mr. Bush, as sincere as ever, gave his permission, and at a press conference, the experts expressed their surprise that the soil is fertile. However, it is very salty and saturated with much oil.

The analysis indicates very little or no hydrogen. So it is not very suitable for life, although the soil is as fertile as the best farmland here on Earth.

A statement made months after the analysis, and every word was cautiously and very carefully censored.  But we're going back to Phoenix. The disingenuous policy is not its fault. It had done everything it could—and it was a lot.

In the months after it landed, winter began on Mars, and without protection, it became a victim of the cold.

 

Today, it is officially declared destroyed. The photographs submitted accompany this confirmation. The splendor of its wings and its vulnerable grace were damaged. The weight of thousands of kilos of ice that had accumulated on its structure broke all its components.

The supports, the solar panels, the arms, and the excavator no longer worked. I can imagine that the cold broke its heart.

The battery and the cable connections were damaged.  ![Phoenix 2008, after landing, the solar panels reflect the light.]  ![Phoenix 2 years later, destroyed by icy storms.]  I hope that the next robots will be better protected and able to move. Some may be smaller than insects, but thousands of them.

As a result, the information would be multiplied by a factor of ten thousand.

I think sending in mini-robots should be the next step.

At the same time, many of them could be lowered from a satellite orbiting Mars.

So they could spread out over a large area and collect and send a lot of pictures and data from many different places.  

Today, NASA itself issued a memorandum in honor of Phoenix, declaring its official death.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/457705main_phoenix20100524-226.jpg

The most exciting thing about this statement is the confirmation of a viable environment for life in the form of microbes.

It is said that the layer covering the floor of Mars is a mixture of dust and petroleum.

This mixture is both a thawing agent and capable of absorbing and preserving hydrogen in this thin layer. This thin layer is very likely to be attacked by microbes. The sensation is, therefore, perfect.  This confirmation appears almost hidden among many other not-so-important pieces of information, but if you read it carefully, you can draw some conclusions.  I have written a couple of times that first, you will see microscopic life, and then the elephants will appear.

I am convinced that this is how it will be.

Everything is ready to confirm extraterrestrial life if they want or need it—for a new policy of raising money or merging with the armed forces.

The Vatican has already given its OK.

So all that is missing is a confirmation from an outstanding scientist.

There, we recently heard a statement from Stephen Hawking who warned us of the danger of contact with ETs.

These warnings already indirectly confirm that the existence of aliens is real.

Why does the greatest scientific brain speak of unfounded danger?

It doesn't criticize a movie like Avatar or any other with wars in a fictional world. No, he's talking about our reality. Mr. Stephen Hawking is outside any political tendency or religion.

He is independent and receives maximum recognition among the most famous scientists of our elite.  Everything is ready for the big event. Let's talk about it when the time comes. 

Josef Bauer

some of my reports
The fossil next to the Phoenix
The shark of Mars and other fossil at his side
There is water on Mars!
The Phoenix of snows, and not from the ashes
Ice under the Phoenix Mars Lander

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phx20100524.html