Icebreaker Life
Icebreaker Life Lander (proposed - near copy of the Phoenix Lander).
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| Mission type | Mars lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | 90 sols |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Based on Phoenix lander |
| Landing mass | ~350 kg (770 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2021 (proposed) |
| Mars lander | |
| Landing date | Martian Summer 2022 (proposed) |
| Landing site | Between 60°N and 70°N (68°13′N 125°42′W / 68.22°N 125.7°W proposed - "near the Phoenix site" ) |
Icebreaker Life is a Mars lander mission that is being proposed for NASA's Discovery Program for the 2021 launch opportunity. If selected and funded, the stationary lander would be a near copy of the successful 2008 Phoenix and it would carry an upgraded astrobiology scientific payload, including a drill to sample ice-cemented ground in the northern plains to conduct a search for organic molecules and evidence of current or past life on Mars.
The science goals for Icebreaker Life focus on the organics, biomolecules, salts, and minerals within the ice-cemented ground. Only organic biomolecules carry biochemical information, and as such would provide conclusive evidence of habitability and life on Mars, and at the same time would provide information on the biological nature of Martian organisms, even if the organisms themselves were no longer present. Contrary to most near-surface environments on Mars, one of the most appealing aspects of studying Martian ground ice is its potential to contain organic biomarkers, biomolecules or biosignatures that may be preserved and protected for extended periods of time from UV, ionizing radiation and oxidants.
The Icebreaker Life mission has been designed based on the successful 2008 Phoenix lander in terms of platform and northern landing site. The Icebreaker Life will also be solar-powered and will be able to accommodate the drill and the rest of the payload with only minor modifications to the original lander.
If selected for the 2021 Discovery program mission 13, the lander would be launched no latter than December 2021 and spend 9 months in cruise. The Lander would arrive over the northern plains of Mars in 2022 during the Martian summer, and land between 60°N and 70°N. Icebreaker Life will complete 90% of its science objectives for full mission success by sol 40. The mission is planned to last for 90 sols. Command, control, and data relay are all patterned after the Phoenix mission with relay to Mars orbiters and direct to Earth as a backup. Christopher McKay is the Principal Investigator.
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