A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

In a stunning development, reports from NASA/JPL indicate that samples of the martian surface, possibly containing life- bearing materials, have been launched into orbit during two separate events from the twin Mars Exploration Rovers.

While initial reports are somewhat fragmented, it appears that each rover has utilized a solid rocket booster (located underneath its high-gain antenna) to launch rock and soil samples into a trajectory which is projected by JPL to result in an orbit around the Red Planet.

"Back in the mid-90s, NASA had always planned for the 2003 missions to return samples from Mars." explained Ed Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science, in an exclusive interview with MarsNews.com. "The Athena rover design always had this instrument built-in, and we decided that it would be easier and cheaper to leave it as-is, rather than make costly and time- consuming changes to the design. Doing so would have violated the spirit (at the time) of 'faster-better-cheaper'. Besides, it's much more exciting this way!"

Using this previously undisclosed capability, the rovers Spirit and Opportunity both successfully launched material that was previously collected using a sample collection tool mounted on the rovers' robotic arms.

Spirit's rocket payload consists of a small fragment of the rock "Adirondack", which was acquired shortly after the first use of its Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) on Sol 34, or February 7th on Earth. This small chuck of "Adirondack" was chosen due to its commonality with other geologic samples.

However, Opportunity's rocket payload may prove to be the more interesting of the two. During a RAT operation, Opportunity's sample collection instrument was able to capture 2-3 of the mysterious "blueberries" previously conjectured to be the mineral hematite. Yet, some scientists attached to the project feel that there may be an alternative explanation for the round granules.

"The 'blueberries' are named that way because they are actually blue." said a Frank Observer Of the Launch, which we interviewed at JPL. "What type of rock would actually be colored that shade? Hematite is usually a shade of gray here on the Earth. I think something else is going on, and I would stake my reputation on it!"

According to JPL mission managers, Opportunity's sample also contains some fragments of bedrock that were identified last week as being formed in salt water, the subject of a previous press briefing at NASA HQ. "It's certainly possible," the scientist continued, "that these blueberries could have a biological explanation."

MarsNews.com will bring you more details as they are uncovered. Expect another update around noon Pacific time...

Posted by jburk at April 1, 2004 08:00 AM | TrackBack