Scientists at the University of Leicester’s Space Research Centre are recreating the hostile environment found on Mars in their laboratory, with a device known as the Martian Environment Simulator (MES). The machine reproduces the temperature, air pressure and unbreathable atmosphere known to exist on Mars. The MES is currently being used to test equipment on the Beagle 2 lander, part of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Spacecraft and due to arrive on Mars during Christmas 2003. The chance of Beagle 2 finding life, either current or past, on the red planet has increased recently due to the discovery of ice beneath the planet’s surface. The MES will be used to test all future instruments for planetary science being developed at the Space Research Centre.
Instruments that work in space need to be thoroughly tested to ensure that they will work in the extreme conditions found there and also to calibrate the readings that will be transmitted back to Earth. Researchers need to be sure that the gases in the atmosphere of another planet will not cause electrical arcing that damages the instruments. The MES creates an environment where the air is made mostly of carbon dioxide and the temperature can vary between a freezing minus 10 degrees Celsius (Martian daytime temperature) and a deadly minus 80 degrees (Martian night). The Martian air pressure at the surface is only 6mbar compared to an average pressure of 1bar on Earth. This means that the air pressure at surface level is lower than that at which the highest altitude commercial flights can travel at on Earth!
The MES incorporates a special sample wheel where geological materials can be attached, making it possible to test instruments designed to analyse rocks or soil on the surface of Mars.
Gill Ormrod | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.pparc.ac.uk
More articles from Earth Sciences:
NASA's QuikScat and Aqua providing important data on Tropical Storm Anja
20.11.2009 | NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Oceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing
19.11.2009 | The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Scientists Unravel Evolution of Highly Toxic Box Jellyfish
20.11.2009 | Life Sciences
When good companies do bad things: Examining illegal corporate behavior
20.11.2009 | Business and Finance
UCR plant scientist's research spawns new discoveries showing how crops survive drought
20.11.2009 | Agricultural and Forestry Science
Multidisciplinary meeting on Urological Cancers aims to benefit cancer patients
20.11.2009 | Event News
'Golden Age' for clinical psychology in Northern Ireland
20.11.2009 | Event News
New Perspectives in Marine Anti-Fouling Research
11.11.2009 | Event News