Martian soil is dry, mildly salty, and...

alcaray — 6/26/2008 11:13:06 PM (archived)

...alkaline? Courtesy of MECA and TEGA.

Also, a benefit of so much screwing around with the scoop:

One of the cool things they mentioned today is that they've developed a new skill: they can now take one sample with the robotic arm and, by careful sprinkling, deliver material taken from one spot to all three of the analysis instruments -- TEGA, the MECA WCL, and the MECA microscope. That's not something they flew to Mars knowing how to do; the plans were always just to scoop and dump onto one instrument, then go get another scoop and dump onto the next instrument. But they had to develop the sprinkle technique to make TEGA work, and that's had the positive payoff that now they can analyze the same sample three different ways, so they know that what they measure in the WCL and TEGA is material that looks the same as what they're seeing in the microscope. Every cloud has a silver lining!

The whole thread (33 posts)

Martian soil is dry, mildly salty, and... - alcaray - 6/26/2008 11:13:06 PM
- The pH level is between 8 and 9; very alkaline martian soil. (n/t) - Jacob - 6/27/2008 1:25:56 PM
  - Instead of the adjective, "very", the adjective, "evidently", wiould do better. (n/t) - Jacob - 6/27/2008 4:50:31 PM
- Mmmm... Aparagus... - Nick Hoffman - 6/27/2008 3:09:59 AM
  - re: Mmmm... Aparagus... - pb - 6/27/2008 5:55:28 AM
    - "Damn frustrating that we could not send six Phoenix landers in stead of one." - Buck Galaxy - 6/29/2008 10:10:36 PM
      - Solar panels work fine, in the summer - Nick Hoffman - 6/30/2008 12:47:18 AM
- Oxidizers - dtb - 6/27/2008 1:40:11 AM
  - Don't know but there may be big differences between polar locations and equatorial ones (where the Vikings went). (n/t) - alcaray - 6/27/2008 3:20:33 AM
- Martian Asparagus - Buck Galaxy - 6/27/2008 12:29:12 AM
  - Asparagus?...I think green beans would do better...It would also explain the martian methane detection. ;-) (n/t) - Jacob - 6/27/2008 1:48:02 PM
    - Martha Stewart s..."LIVING" on MARS - carl - 6/27/2008 3:35:18 PM
      - Are you starting a collection to get her there? (n/t) - nick hoffman - 6/28/2008 9:55:34 AM
      - It's a GOOD thing! (n/t) - ER - 6/27/2008 4:55:58 PM
      - LOL!!! (n/t) - Jacob - 6/27/2008 4:14:40 PM
  - Now we know what the Spiders eat (n/t) - pb - 6/27/2008 3:22:15 AM
  - Think of how tall it could grow. And magic beans, maybe. (n/t) - Bowser - 6/27/2008 2:29:09 AM
  - Asparagus from MARS!!!! - pb - 6/27/2008 1:45:59 AM
    - [snort!] (n/t) - Robert - 6/27/2008 4:39:54 AM
      - Is that a 'White Mars' joke? - pb - 6/27/2008 5:28:57 AM
        
        [groan] (n/t) - Robert - 6/27/2008 2:36:59 PM
        
        Why so grumpy lately? (n/t) - pb - 6/27/2008 6:25:49 PM
        
        No no no, I'm Sneezy (n/t) - Robert - 6/27/2008 7:19:11 PM
        
        Dwarfed by comparison - pb - 6/28/2008 2:16:36 AM
        
        'sept you left out a few.... (n/t) - Bashful - 6/28/2008 6:16:47 PM
    - lol (n/t) - Buck Galaxy - 6/27/2008 4:25:12 AM
- A question. - Bowser - 6/26/2008 11:36:31 PM
  - Mars DOES have geological processes... - Nick Hoffman - 6/27/2008 2:08:15 AM
    - The first high-temp TEGA results indicate trace hydrated minerals present. (n/t) - Jacob - 6/27/2008 1:51:26 PM
    - So why did they say the Viking results were like hydrogen peroxide? - Socrates II - 6/27/2008 4:16:56 AM
      - Alkaline reaction could be trace of superoxide in this lithosol - bruced - 6/29/2008 7:41:08 AM
        
        regolith is the generally accepted term for 'soils"on a planet/moon - Nick Hoffman - 6/30/2008 12:48:48 AM
      - Super Oxidisers or otherwise... - Adam Crowl - 6/27/2008 10:36:21 PM

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