Science, Technology and Society 361: "Mars Exploration" -- Fall 2010
Monday, November 12, 2007
SpaceDev
August 27, 2007 - SpaceDev (OTCBB: SPDV) announced today that it provided key hardware and instruments for the recently launched Mars Phoenix Lander, now on its way to Mars. SpaceDev delivered five flight actuator assemblies, key components of the Wet Chemistry Laboratory for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument aboard NASA's Mars Phoenix 2007 Lander mission, under contract to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Pasadena, California. The Mars Phoenix Lander spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral on August 3, 2007. Upon landing on Mars in May 2008, the SpaceDev Actuator Assembly will accept a sample of Martian soil, deliver it to a sensor assembly, or "beaker," add liquid water to the beaker, stir the solution, and monitor pressure above the solution. It will then add several crucibles to the solution, containing calibration materials and other reagents. These functions will make it possible for the Wet Chemistry Laboratory to analyze the Martian soil by performing numerous electrochemical measurements.
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