Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
After almost ten months in transit, the Phoenix Polar Lander is scheduled to touch down on Mars' north pole this weekend, and start digging in the soil for signs of life. That is, assuming it isn't sabotaged by Martians, like the last Polar Lander we sent. And assuming NASA can successfully slow it down from 12,500 mph to 5 mph before it lands. Video here.
Like Viking, they will probably "detect life," but then have to revise those findings because non-biologic explanations will be proposed to induce false positives in the assays.
Oops, like, we sent a multi-million dollar thing to Mars, but the experiments fail to resolve the difference between life and non-life as we originally intended.
Posted by: Jon at May 22, 2008 11:06 PMThe prior loss was no doubt the work of Marvin the Martian and his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
Posted by: caradoc at May 23, 2008 12:57 AMWell what do you know, I guess this time they got it to land in one piece... Huh. How about that.
Posted by: Jon at May 25, 2008 09:35 PM