Aspace probe designed to look for signs of life in the oceans that once covered
Mars will be unveiled by Nasa scientists this week.
The Phoenix Mars Lander will be sent to the icy wastelands near the red planet's north polar ice cap. It will be launched next month and is expected to reach the planet in May.
When the probe lands its task will be to dig deep into the soil, scoop out chunks of ice and analyze them for signs of past or present life forms. The landing site has been chosen as the most likely point to find buried ice that once formed part of the planet's
oceans.
"The arctic plains are the right place for the next step in Mars exploration and this is the right time to go there," said Leslie Tamppari, Phoenix project scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We expect to touch Martian ice for the first time."
Mars is now a cold desert planet with the thinnest of
atmospheres and no water on the surface. However, previous missions have shown that there are large amounts of ice below the planet's crust in the northern arctic plains.
Data from previous missions suggest that billions of years ago water flowed through canyons and formed large shallow seas. Some of these may have still been in existence 100,000 years ago.
The search for water is more than scientific. Nasa's long-term goal is to send a human to Mars and a manned mission would be easier if the crew was guaranteed a source of water on arrival.
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