Phoenix approaches the area that may have ice on Mars

The US Phoenix probe after a week of landing on Mars, has now approached an area that experts predict could have ice - a testament to the sign of life on Mars.

After five days of operation of the Phoenix probe, the US Space and Space Agency (NASA) has released two new information: a short-circuit phenomenon occurs on a device on board; and there may be ice in the strata on Mars.

According to NASA, the intermittent short circuit happened on May 29 in the mass spectrometer of the ' exhaust and heat gas analysis system ' (TEGA). This system is used to burn and ' smell ' samples of Martian rocks and ice to analyze their composition, in search of signs of life on the planet.

Surface floating imaging system (Surface Stereo Imager) in Phoenix, is responsible for collecting separate images to combine into a general image . (Photo: NASA, Space.com)

William Boyton, a scientist from the Moon and Planet Laboratory, said the problem was not serious. According to him, the experts have identified the cause of a short circuit and are studying remedies. NASA said the orders to resolve this problem will be designed and sent to Phoenix in the next few days.

Elsewhere, NASA said that when the Phoenix probe landed on Mars on May 25, the smoke emitted from the ship's landing engine blew up the soil on Mars, revealing an area where the Experts think it could be ice or rock.

Areas that Phoenix's robot arm can reach on the Martian surface (yellow: rocky area; blue: other areas) - (Photo: NASA, Space.com)

In a report on the issue, Dr. Ray Arvidson, of the University of Washington, said: ' We can clearly see that there is ice or ice in the explosive area of ​​the retro-rocket rocket of Phoenix when the ship landed on Mars . We are considering both of these assumptions by collecting more data, including color data, from the camera on the ship's robot arm '.

NASA said Phoenix was designed to look for signs of early life in the northernmost region of Mars. The ship will also perform tests to detect traces of organic compounds on the planet. Mr. Arvidson said: 'During the excavation and analysis of Mars stratigraphic layers, we will know well what we are seeing now.'

The smoke from Phoenix's answering engine blew up the ground on Mars, revealing an area that experts consider ice or rock.(Photo: NASA, Space.com)

Truc Thinh