04 Aug 2007

Space-Adapted AFM On Its Way To Mars

Today marks the successful launch of the Phoenix Mars Mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida. A thundering Delta rocket propelled the unmanned Phoenix spacecraft through earth's atmosphere and on its way to the red planet. The Phoenix lander is scheduled to touch down on Mars in late May 2008.

The Phoenix mission is the first ever led by a public university, the University of Arizona. It is also the first mission targeted at exploring the ice-rich northern polar region of Mars. This region is believed to be the last remaining area where microbial life could have existed. Right now, the Martian arctic is most likely too cold for liquid water to exist. But warmer climates, tens of thousands of years ago, may have allowed for an abundance of life-supporting water. The Phoenix lander will examine Martian water-ice for the first time, looking for evidence of previously existing liquid water. Using a robotic arm, the lander can dig down to one-half meter and retrieve samples for evaluation. This is much deeper than the few centimeter depth probed by previous Mars landers.

Onboard the Phoenix lander is a suite of sophisticated scientific instrumentation including a weather station, an optical microscope, and a high-resolution Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The advanced AFM is the first ever utilized in space and will analyze Martian soil samples in greater detail than ever before. By resolving nanometer scale features in 3D, the AFM will help determine whether or not liquid water ever existed on Mars, or if fluidic transport ever occurred.

Nanosurf AG, the University of Neuchatel, and the University of Basel were part of a Swiss consortium challenged to equip the Phoenix lander with a space-adapted atomic force microscope. Nanosurf’s AFM design was selected because of its outstanding lightweight of just 320 grams, its low voltage requirements, and its varied robust features. The Mars-bound AFM is designed to achieve a resolution of 10 nanometers in an image range of 10 micrometers. For redundancy, it is equipped with 8 addressable sensors and cantilevers on a single chip. The AFM can be operated in static or dynamic mode, enabling it to image loose Martian soil particles without disturbing them. After imaging each sample, the AFM’s micro computer system, backed by the Lander computer, will relay the acquired data back to earth.

For up-to-date progress on the Phoenix Mars Mission, visit the official website at: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

About Nanoscience Instruments
Nanoscience Instruments, Inc. provides technical sales and support as the leading US distributor of Atomic Force Microscope systems and supplies. Information about the world's smallest and most user-friendly AFMs, AFM accessories, and AFM probes can be found at www.nanoscience.com.

CONTACT:
Joseph S. Grech
480-940-3940