Thames & Kosmos Space-explorers 620734 User manual

EXPERIMENT MANUAL
Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | [phone] | www.kosmos.de
Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com
Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ, United Kingdom | 01580 212000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk
620374-03-130515

Kosmos Quality and Safety
More than one hundred years of expertise in publishing science
experiment kits stand behind every product that bears the Kosmos
name. Kosmos experiment kits are designed by an experienced team
of specialists and tested with the utmost care during development
and production. With regard to product safety, these experiment
kits follow European and US safety standards, as well as our own
refined proprietary safety guidelines. By working closely with our
manufacturing partners and safety testing labs, we are able to
control all stages of production. While the majority of our products
are made in Germany, all of our products, regardless of origin,
follow the same rigid quality standards.
1st Edition 2015 Thames & Kosmos, LLC, Providence, RI, USA
Thames & Kosmos® is a registered trademark of Thames & Kosmos, LLC.
This work, including all its parts, is copyright protected. Any use outside the specific limits of the copyright law without the consent of the publisher is prohibited and punishable by law.
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is free from copyright or other protection.
Technical product development: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Author: Manfred Schwarz
Translation: David Gamon
Editing: Ted McGuire
Additional Graphics and Packaging: Dan Freitas
Manual design concept: Atelier Bea Klenk, Berlin
Manual illustrations: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C., and Thames & Kosmos
Manual photos:
Courtesy of NASA and/or NASA JPL: p. 3 all, p. 4 all, p. 14-18 all, p. 25 all, p. 32 all, p. 39 (moon), p. 40 all, p. 53 all; p. 80 all.
Wikipedia: p. 59 (C-3PO and R2-D2) Dirk Vorderstrasse, CC BY 2.0; p. 59 (Marvin) Fair use, courtesy of Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment; p. 59 (Robby) Pattymooney, CC
BY SA 3.0; p. 59 (ASIMO) Courtesy Honda, CC BY SA 3.0.
iStock: p. 59 (WALL-E) © Disney Pixar Studio, Editorial use only.
Other: p. 59 (Robots Movie Poster) Fair use, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios; p. 59 (Gort) Public domain image, courtesy of 20th Century Fox; p. 79
(Kirobo) Media image, courtesy of Kibo Robot Project; p. 79 (Philae) DLR, CC-BY 3.0; p. 79 (Fire ants) Stephen Ausmus, public domain image.
All other photos: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C., and Thames & Kosmos
The publisher has made every effort to locate the holders of image rights for all of the photos used. If in any individual cases any holders of image rights have not been acknowledged,
they are asked to provide evidence to the publisher of their image rights so that they may be paid an image fee in line with the industry standard.
Distributed in North America by Thames & Kosmos, LLC. Providence, RI 02903
Phone: [phone]; Web: www.thamesandkosmos.com
Distributed in United Kingdom by Thames & Kosmos UK, LP. Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2QZ
Phone: [phone]; Web: www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk
We reserve the right to make technical changes.
Printed in Taiwan / Imprimé en Taiwan
› › › SAFETY INFORMATION
Safety Information
WARNING. Only for use by children aged 8 years and older.
Instructions for parents or other supervising adults are included
and have to be observed. Keep packaging and instructions as
they contain important information.
WARNING. Not suitable for children under 3 years. Choking
hazard — small parts may be swallowed or inhaled.
Store the experiment material and assembled models out of the
reach of small children.
Safety for Experiments with
Batteries
››› The wires are not to be inserted into socket-outlets. Never
perform experiments using household current! The high voltage
can be extremely dangerous or fatal!
››› To operate the models, you will need six AAA baeries (1.5-
volt, type AAA/LR03) or six AAA rechargeable baeries (1.2-
volt, min. 1100 mAh), which could not be included in the kit due
to their limited shelf life.
››› The supply terminals are not to be short-circuited. A short
circuit can cause the wires to overheat and the baeries to
explode.
››› Different types of baeries or new and used baeries are not
to be mixed.
››› Do not mix old and new baeries.
››› Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or rechargeable
(nickel-cadmium) baeries.
››› Baeries are to be inserted with the correct polarity. Press
them gently into the baery compartment. See page 2.
››› Always close baery compartments with the lid.
››› Non-rechargeable baeries are not to be recharged. They
could explode!
››› Rechargeable baeries are only to be charged under adult
supervision.
››› Rechargeable baeries are to be removed from the toy before
being charged.
››› Exhausted baeries are to be removed from the toy.
››› Dispose of used baeries in accordance with environmental
provisions, not in the household trash.
››› Be sure not to bring baeries into contact with coins, keys, or
other metal objects.
››› Avoid deforming the baeries.
As all of the experiments use baeries, have an adult check the
experiments or models before use to make sure they are
assembled properly. Always operate the motorized models
under adult supervision.
After you are done experimenting, remove the baeries from the
baery compartments. Note the safety information
accompanying the individual experiments or models!
Notes on Disposal of Electrical
and Electronic Components
The electronic components of this product are recyclable. For the
sake of the environment, do not throw them into the household
trash at the end of their lifespan. They must be delivered to a
collection location for electronic waste, as indicated by the
following symbol:
Please contact your local authorities for the appropriate
disposal location.
Dear Parents,
Before starting the experiments, read through the instruction
manual together with your child and discuss the safety
information. Check to make sure the models have been
assembled correctly, and assist your child with the experiments.
We hope you and your child have a lot of fun with the
experiments!
FCC Part 15 Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not
cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any
interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with
the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, maybe cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to
radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning
the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different form
that to which the receiver is connected.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for
help.

No. Description Qty. Item No.
1Joint pin 14 1156-W10-A1R
2 Axle lock 4 3620-W10-A1D
3Shaft plug 5 7026-W10-H1R
4Shaft pin 6 7026-W10-J3R
53-hole rod 2 7026-W10-Q1W
63-hole cross rod 9 7026-W10-X1W
73-hole dual rod 4 7061-W10-R1D
83-hole wide rounded rod, black 4 7404-W10-C1D
93-hole wide rounded rod, white 2 7404-W10-C1W
10 Cross rod with pegs 1 7404-W10-B1S
11 5-hole rod, white 5 7413-W10-K2W
12 5-hole rod, black 2 7413-W10-K2D
13 5-hole cross rod, black 4 7413-W10-K3D
14 5-hole dual rod B, white 4 7026-W10-S2W
15 5-hole dual rod C, white 1 7026-W10-S3W
16 5-hole dual rod C, black 4 7026-W10-S3D
17 7-hole wide rounded rod, black 4 7404-W10-C2D
18 7-hole wide rounded rod, white 6 7404-W10-C2W
19 7-hole flat rounded rod, black 4 7404-W10-C3D
20 7-hole flat rounded rod, white 6 7404-W10-C3W
21 11-hole rod 4 7026-W10-C1D
22 Diagonal connector 4 7404-W10-B2S
23 Short frame 2 7413-W10-I1W
24 Curved rod 2 7061-W10-V1D
25 Square frame A 1 7026-W10-V1W
26 Square frame B 4 7026-W10-T2W
27 Trapezoidal block 1 7061-W10-L1W
28 30-mm axle 8 7413-W10-N1D
No. Description Qty. Item No.
29 35-mm axle 4 7413-W10-O1D
30 70-mm axle 2 7061-W10-Q1D
31 90-degree converter X, black 2 7061-W10-J1D
32 90-degree converter X, white 2 7061-W10-J1W
33 90-degree converter Y, black 2 7061-W10-J2D
34 90-degree converter Y, white 4 7061-W10-J2W
35 Flat triangle 4 7128-W10-A2S
36 Small gear 11 7026-W10-D2S
37 Large gear with holes 1 7026-W10-W5S
38 Worm 1 7344-W10-A1W
39 Wheel 6 7392-W10-H1W
40 Tire, hard plastic 4 7392-W10-G1S
41 Tire, rubbery plastic 2 7413-W10-D1S
42 30-mm tube 6 7400-W10-G1D
43 20-mm tube 2 7400-W10-G2D
44 Short anchor pin 9 880-W10-M1B
45 Anchor pin 46 7061-W10-C1R
46 Two-to-one converter 10 7061-W10-G1D
47 Washer 4 R12-3620
48 Anchor pin lever 1 7061-W10-B1Y
49 Medium gear 4 7346-W10-C1S
50 Motor unit 2 7400-W85-A
51 IR remote control unit 1 7337-W85-A1
52 IR motor unit 1 7337-W85-B1
53 80-mm tube 1 7337-W16-A1D
54 Sensor box front 1 7337-W10-A2W
55 Sensor box back 1 7337-W10-A3W
56 Sensor box eye stickers 1 R20-7337
6 2 0 374 - 0 2 - 13 0 515
What’s inside your experiment kit:
Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off
1 2 3 7 854 6 9 10 11 12 13 14
17 1815 16 19 2120 22 23 24 25 26 27
28
43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 39 4037 38 41
42
› › › KIT CONTENTS
GOOD TO KNOW! If you are missing any
parts, please contact Thames & Kosmos
customer service.
US: [e-mail]
UK: [e-mail]
You will also need:
6 x AAA batteries (1.5-volt, type AAA/LR03) or
6 x AAA rechargeable batteries (1.2-volt, min. 1100 mAh)


A
35-mm axle
30-mm axle
B C
D
E
F
G
Here are a few tips for assembling
and using the models. Read them
carefully before starting.
A. Gear hole alignment
Pay close aention to the alignment of the
holes in the gear wheels. Make sure that
you insert the shaft pins into the correct
holes and that the gears are oriented
exactly as shown in relation to each other
and to the model.
B. -mm and -mm axles
Make sure you use the correct axles. The
30-mm and 35-mm axles look very similar,
so the assembly instructions indicate
which one to use with a 1:1 scale image.
C. The part separator tool
In the box, you will find a lile yellow tool
called the anchor pin lever. End A of the
part separator tool makes it easy to
remove anchor pins from the frames.
D. Gear wheels
The models will often have several gear
wheels installed in a row. In order for the
models to work well, these gears will have
to mesh well. Otherwise, the force from
one gear wheel won’t be properly
transferred to the next.
E. Batteries in IR motor unit
Insert the baeries according to their
indicated plus-minus polarity and close the
compartment with the transparent cover.
F. Batteries in IR remote control
unit
Open the baery compartment by
unscrewing the screw and removing the
cover. Insert two baeries, paying aention
to the polarity indicated in the
compartment and on the baeries. Close
the compartment again and reinsert the
screw to secure it.
G. Using the IR remote control
To control a model, turn on both the motor
unit and the remote control unit by moving
their switches from the “off” position (0) to
any of the four channels (1–4). The motor
unit and the remote control must be set to
the same channel to communicate. The
channels enable you to use up to four
models (sold separately) at the same time
in the same space.
IMPORTANT!
Make sure your remote control unit and your
motor unit are both set to the same channel
(–) or else they will not work. When the
remote control and motor are not in use, turn
them off by seing their switches to “” so as
to not drain the baeries.
› › › TIPS AND TRICKS Hole A
Hole
B
Hole
B
Hole C
A


Safety Information ........................................................... Inside front cover
Kit Contents...................................................................................................... 
Tips and Tricks ................................................................................................ 
Table of Contents............................................................................................ 
Exploring Space with Machines and Robots
Mars Exploration ............................................................................................ 
Build a model resembling the Curiosity Mars Rover and learn about how
it got to Mars and what it did when it got there. Read about the history
of Mars exploration.
The model:
Mars rover............................................................................................................... 5
Geing to Space ............................................................................................ 
Build models of a space shuttle and a space shuttle’s robotic arm. Learn
about how these devices were used to transport people and materials
into space.
The models:
Space shule .......................................................................................................19
Shule arm........................................................................................................... 26
Shoot for the Moon ...................................................................................... 
Construct a model of a lunar rover and learn about how astronauts
used it on the moon.
The model:
Lunar rover............................................................................................................33
Deep Space ..................................................................................................... 
Build a rocket launcher car model and imagine using it to get a space
probe off the planet. Then build a space probe model that might travel
far away from Earth to explore deep space.
The models:
Rocket launch car................................................................................................41
Probe ..................................................................................................................... 48
Robots in Space ............................................................................................ 
Build remote-control models of robots that might one day be used to
assist humans on spacecraft or in extraterrestrial colonies.
The models:
Space droid............................................................................................................54
Walking bot ...........................................................................................................60
Futuristic Spacecraft ................................................................................... 
Build cool models of fantastical spacecraft that could be used to
transport humans far away from our home planet.
The models:
Cross-wing starship............................................................................................66
Spaceship controller ..........................................................................................73
Publisher’s Information ...................................................Inside back cover
TIP!
You will find additional
information in the “Check it out”
sections on pages -, , ,
, , , , and .
TIP!
Above each set of assembly
instructions, you will find a red bar:
››› It shows you the difficulty level for
the model’s assembly:
easy medium hard
› › › TABLE OF CONTENTS
Remote-Control Machines: Space Explorers


Exploring Space with
Machines and Robots
Robots are mechanical agents controlled by computer programs. They can be
programmed to perform all sorts of tasks and movements. Robots can assemble
cars, play soccer, wash windows, vacuum floors, fly planes, map terrain, climb
mountains, entertain people, cook dinner — the list goes on and on. And now,
robots are increasingly used in extraterrestrial exploration.
In this kit, you will build ten models of real and imaginary robots that perform
their duties in outer space and on other planets.


MARS ROVER
3
1
2
3
1 2 3 7 854 6 10 11 12 14
17 18
15
16 19 2120 22 23 25 26 27
28
43 44 45 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 39 4037 38 41
42
1x 4x 1x
2x4x6x1x1x
9x4x2x2x2x2x2x4x8x
6x 2x 9x 46x 10x 4x 3x 1x
1x
1x
2x
1x 1x 1x
14x 1x
4x 4x 4x 4x 6x 4x 4x 2x
1x4x 2x5x 9x 4x 4x 1x 4x 2x 3x
30-mm axle
x
x
x
Rubbery
plastic
Rubbery
plastic
Hard
plastic
Align
Mars Exploration
4
56
78


MARS ROVER
9
10
11
12
13
14
30-mm axle
35-mm axle
Rubbery
plastic


Mars Exploration
15 16
17
18
19
20
21
22
30-mm axle
35-mm axle
x
Stickers


26
23
24
25
35-mm axle
MARS ROVER


27 28
29 30
35-mm axle
Hole A
Hole
B
Hole
B
Hole C
Connect to
hole A
Hole A
Mars Exploration


MARS ROVER
31
32
33
34
x


Mars Exploration
36 37
38
39
35
30-mm axle


MARS ROVER
41
40


EXPERIMENT 1
Done!
Mars Exploration
HERE’S HOW
Have a friend or family member set
up a make-believe Mars landscape in
a room in your house. They can
gather various light objects to be
investigated and collected such as
small cardboard boxes (e.g., tea
boxes and matchboxes), light toys,
and empty cans, and place them
around the room. Turn on your model
and, while staying at least one meter
away from the model at all times, try
to collect all of the objects and bring
them to one location for pretend-
transport back to Earth!
42
43
Push
Exploring “Mars”


Curiosity Makes You Smarter
On November 26, 2011, the moment had finally arrived. The most
ambitious NASA mission to date for the exploration of Mars had
started: The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) lifted off from Cape
Canaveral on board an Atlas V 541 rocket.
The centerpiece of this Mars mission was the Curiosity rover. A rover
is a vehicle that is controlled by radio signals sent from Earth. If it is
too far away from Earth, it can also be driven autonomously. It is
smart enough to steer itself toward goals and avoid obstacles. A rover
such as Curiosity is equipped with a variety of measuring instruments
and tools, and it can transmit its measurement results back to Earth.
Curiosity’s most important objective is to answer this question: Was
Mars ever or might it still be habitable?
GETTING A ROBOT TO MARS SAFELY
In order to answer that question, Curiosity first had to
complete the long voyage to the planet — about 570
million kilometers. To make that journey, the rover and
the MSL needed eight and a half months. On August 6,
2012, Curiosity finally landed softly on Mars.
After all, a lot of thought had gone into it. NASA
engineers had designed a “sky crane” system to be held
by retrorockets 20 meters above the Martian surface.
From there, the rover was finally lowered to the surface
on nylon tethers.
In order to understand this beer, let’s take a look at the
most important elements of the Mars Science
Laboratory.
The cruise stage guided the MSL during its flight to
Mars. Before entering the Mars atmosphere, the module
was separated from the capsule. The capsule protected
the rover from the conditions of space and the Martian
atmosphere as it parachuted down toward the surface.
The heat shield in turn provided protection against the
extremely high temperatures of atmospheric entry.
After the heat shield and capsule had completed their
tasks, they were cut loose. At that point, the freed
descent stage took care of the soft and precise landing
of the rover on the Martian surface. It was the descent
stage that held the sky crane system mentioned above.
CHECK IT OUT


CURIOSITY’S ENGINEERING IN DETAIL
With a mass of 900 kg and the size of a compact car,
Curiosity is by far the heaviest man-made object ever
to land on the Martian surface.
In contrast to earlier rover missions to Mars, Curiosity
is powered with a small atomic baery rather than
solar cells. That makes it more mobile and frees it
from having to rely on solar radiation.
For moving across the Mars surface, Curiosity has
six wheels symmetrically aached to two tubular
frames. The rover is steered by the two pairs of
wheels at the front and back. Since they can turn a
full 90° to the left or right, the rover can rotate 360°
while standing in one spot.
Curiosity can move at a speed of up to 4 centimeters
per second. That means it can cover 100 to 300 meters
a day — admiedly not a lot. But the rover isn’t on
Mars just to drive around. It’s there to collect data. To
be able to do that wherever it goes, it can handle
slopes of up to 45° and obstacles of up 75 cm in height
— in all directions. So it’s a virtual rock-climbing
master.
EVERYTHING IN FOCUS
The rover has a lot of scientific instruments on
board for studying rocks, atmosphere, and
radiation. For example, there are four “hazard
avoidance cameras” (hazcams) installed on the
lower portion of the rover for collecting
environmental data. These cameras collectively
cover a field of view of 120° and can take 3D
pictures. With their help, the entire surroundings
can be searched for obstacles up to four meters
away.
Curiosity is also equipped with a two-meter-long
robotic arm on the front. This is called a “Sample
Acquisition, Processing, and Handling” system, or
“SA/SPaH” for short. Its three joints make it
resemble a human arm, or more precisely a system
composed of a shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint.
That makes it very flexible and capable of moving
some of its instruments right up next to the object
being studied.
Mars Exploration


CHECK IT OUT
WELL EQUIPPED WITH
DRILL, SHOVEL, AND BRUSH
Curiosity’s arm is equipped with a drilling
system, a digging shovel, a brush, and a sieve
with collection containers. This equipment can
even allow it to analyze deeper levels of soil
and rock.
The most important part of the arm is the drill
at its tip. This is capable of drilling holes in rock
up to 5 cm deep. In the process, the drilling core
material is pulverized and analyzed.
A particularly striking feature is the 1.1-meter
mast at the front left corner of the chassis. The
top part, which contains almost all the
instruments, resembles a human head due to
its freedom of movement. In fact, Curiosity’s
mast can rotate 360°.
The chemistry and camera system (ChemCam
for short) consists of a laser, spectrometer, and
camera. Spectrometers are used to determine
the composition of light radiation. That in turn
lets you figure out what elements Martian
rocks are made of, since every element has its
own characteristic spectra. In this process, the
laser is focused on a small point and heats the
material there so intensely that it starts to
vaporize. Then, the optical spectrometer
studies the composition of the gases and
plasmas created.
For general meteorological measurements, the
rover is equipped with instruments for
determining wind speed and direction, UV
radiation, surface temperature and pressure,
and the temperature and relative humidity of
the atmosphere.
For communication with ground control on
Earth, Curiosity has two communication
systems. One is responsible for receiving
control commands and transmiing status
data. The other handles the transmission of
scientific data (up to 250 megabits per day),
which are then analyzed by NASA scientists.
GREETINGS FROM EARTH
As part of NASA’s “Send Your Name to
Mars” program, members of the public
were able to immortalize themselves
by entering their names onto a Mars
rover microchip. 1.2 million names
were scanned in, laser-etched onto two
small microchips each about the size of
a dime, and brought on board Curiosity.
Is that cool or what?
CURIOSITY FINDS THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF LIFE ON MARS
And was there ever life on Mars? After just a few days,
Curiosity delivered further proof for the earlier presence of
water on Mars (see also next section). The rover discovered
some of the building blocks of life on a chip of stone. The
samples showed traces of clay, sulfates, and other minerals
— all elements that make life possible. So you see, Curiosity
has made us smarter!


Mars Exploration
STARTING SHOT, 
The history of Mars expeditions is a long one. But
its starting point wasn’t marked by Americans. The
Russians (or Soviets, at that time) were the first to
take off for Mars, the so-called red planet. On
October 10, 1960, they sent a probe on its way to
Mars. However, it didn’t even manage to reach an
orbit around Earth. NASA’s first Mars mission,
Mariner 3, also failed. That 1964 probe was unable
to separate from its booster rocket.
Over 30 more missions were to follow — and more
than half of them failed. The challenges have
always been immense.
In 1965, Mariner 4 was the first probe to fly by
Mars. It was equipped with a camera and took 22
photos. One important insight gained from that
mission: The Martian surface is barren and
desolate, more or less like a lunar landscape.
Geing to Know Mars, One Step at a Time
For researchers, Mars was right up there with the moon as an aractive candidate for exploration. It is
close to Earth and a rocky planet. It gets its red color from iron compounds in its soil. Its surface is a
rocky desert with monstrous extinct volcanoes and dried seas and river beds.
A trip to Mars on a space ship would take about a year. For centuries, researchers have wanted to find
out whether humans might be able to sele there one day.
MORE FAILURES, THEN A
BREAKTHROUGH
1971 brought more failures: Mariner 8 failed
right at launch. The Soviet probe Kosmos 419,
which was supposed to be the first to land on
Mars, only reached an orbit around Earth.
Mars 2 and Mars 3 (Soviet Union) did reach
the planet, but only provided a lile data.
The landing module of Mars 3 was the first
Earth object to land on the red planet.
The NASA probes Viking 1 and Viking 2 took
off for Mars in 1975. They were the first
American missions to land space vehicles on
the surface of Mars.
Viking 1 accomplished this on June 20, 1976,
and Viking 2 landed successfully as well.
Both probes sent more than 50,000 photos
and a wealth of data about the composition
of the Martian surface. The hope of finding
traces of life, however, was not fulfilled.

Mars Climate Orbiter

CHECK IT OUT
THE ULTIMATE QUESTION
Is or was there ever life on Mars?
The various Mars mission experiments
provided no clear evidence about the
existence of organic life on Mars. All of the
biological experiments, however, observed
changes that could be caused by organic
life. Still, who knows?
Curiosity
Sojourner
Opportunity
EXPLORING AND MEASURING THE RED PLANET
With Pathfinder, NASA landed another probe on the red planet in 1997.
Pathfinder and its robotic vehicle Sojourner transmied 16,000 pictures to
Earth. And their radar data provided evidence for the widespread presence of
water ice under the Martian polar regions. Water is, of course, a crucial
prerequisite for life.
On October 24, 2001, the NASA probe Mars Odyssey entered into an orbit
around the red planet. It delivered data about the Mars surface, looked for
evidence for the past presence of water, and used its gamma spectrometer to
measure the composition of the surface and its minerals.
The 2003 European mission Mars Express was also a success. The probe created
a three-dimensional map of the Martian surface with unprecedented resolution.
Its Beagle 2 lander, however, remains lost. Good and bad luck often go together
on Mars missions.
WATER AND ICE ON MARS!
In January 2004, the NASA rovers Spirit and
Opportunity landed on Mars. In early March,
they delivered the sensational news: There
was liquid water on Mars. Opportunity found
sulfur compounds that can only form in liquid
water. The two rovers transmied several
hundred thousand photos to Earth.
In May 2008, the NASA probe Phoenix landed
in the arctic latitudes of the northern Martian
hemisphere. Its gripper arm of over two
meters in length allows it to look for ice under
the surface. Its very first excavation job was a
success: Just a few centimeters under the
Martian dust, Phoenix found conclusive
evidence of water ice.
WHAT NOW?
Most of the probes are no longer in operation. The Curiosity
rover, though, which you know about from the first chapter,
is still actively delivering data. Over all these years, the
numerous Mars missions carried over 9 tons of material to
that planet. But so far, nothing has been carried from Mars
back to Earth. Just think of how exciting it would be to study
some Martian rocks here in our laboratories!
A joint American-European project has set itself precisely
that task. Mars Sample Return (MSR) is in the planning
stages with NASA and ESA, the European counterpart to
NASA. The plan is to bring the very first rock samples from
Mars to Earth. The mission is currently in an early phase of
development, with liftoff expected as soon as 2022. You
never know, you might be part of the research team when the
time comes, if you do your homework!
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