A research partnership between scientists and students from UF and the University of Central Florida has resulted in innovative technology that is literally out of this world.
A NASA spacecraft, dubbed the Phoenix, reached Mars on Sunday equipped with a device created with the help of a UF team. The device will allow the lander's camera to capture accurate photos of the Martian terrain.
Randy Duran, UF chemistry professor, said the Phoenix mission was sent to dig into the Martian surface in search of water, which would support evidence that there is potential for life on the planet.
The cameras on board spacecrafts are usually damaged by the harsh conditions of Mars and cannot accurately capture necessary images, Duran said.
UF helped improve color-calibration targets on the Phoenix to ensure the camera's accuracy so scientists would know where to make the Phoenix dig, he said.
"Without the color-calibration targets, the Phoenix mission is essentially blind," Duran said.
These targets are made of a silicon wafer with a protective metal casing that repels dust from the camera's lens and provides accurate color analysis, Duran said.
NASA began successfully receiving images from the spacecraft within one hour of its landing, he said.
Duran and his team from UF and UCF completed the color-calibration targets for the mission two years ago.
"It was amazing to provide UF students with an opportunity to create something that could make history in space," Duran said.
It took a year and a half to build the Phoenix, which departed Earth in August.
Abhi Lokesh, a UF integrative biology senior, worked on the project during his freshman and sophomore years.
Lokesh said he couldn't believe there were never more than five students involved with the project.
"This project was a hidden gem," he said. "I don't think kids realized how cool the stuff was that we were doing."
