|
|
 |
 |
Dirt Has Scientists Disco Dancing
Dirt on Mars had NASA scientists dancing with happiness last week. The Phoenix Mars Lander has an onboard laboratory to study Mars. A robotic arm scooped up a sample from the Martian soil. It was supposed to drop it into the lab. The lab can analyze soil samples from Mars to find out what's in the dirt. But the clump of dirt stuck to the scoop and wouldn't fall into the lab as planned.
The scientists were stumped. They ordered the Mars Lander to vibrate. They hoped that would shake the dirt loose, but it didn't work. So they tried again with no luck. On the seventh and final try the clump of dirt fell right where they wanted it. The scientists were so happy they cheered and danced to disco music by K.C. and the Sunshine Band.
Now that the soil is in the Lander, a small oven will bake it. When the dirt heats up, the lab can run tests to see if there's ice on Mars and what kinds of minerals are in the Martian soil. If there is ice, that could get us even closer to finding out if there is or ever was any kind of life on Mars. Until then, it's nice to see the scientists having a blast while they get the scoop on dirt from another planet.
I'm Adelbert and that's what happened in Science this week!
Photo: NASA
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
