York University professor Jim Whiteway, principal investigator for the Canadian team, will deliver the first weather data from Phoenix’s Canadian-built meteorological station. Researchers will receive daily weather reports for the duration of the 90-day mission.

The meteorological station will gather crucial information about the climate on Mars, and provide a comprehensive picture of the atmosphere at the landing site, 1,200 km from the planet’s north pole. It consists of temperature, wind, and pressure sensors, as well as a laser-based-light-detecting-and-ranging (lidar) system. The lidar will shoot pulses of laser light into the Martian sky, precisely measuring components of the atmosphere such as dust, ground fog, and clouds, from the surface up to a range of 20 km. This is the first time such data will be collected.

Phoenix, a joint project of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories and the University of Arizona, landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, at 7:38 pm EDT. It is the first scout mission to study the Martian ice cap. Alongside gathering of atmospheric data, the lander will attempt to dig to an ice-rich layer believed to lie very close to the planet’s surface, allowing scientists to gather evidence about climate cycles and investigate whether the environment there has been favorable for microbial life.

The meteorological component of the mission is a collaboration led by York University, in partnership with the University of Alberta, Dalhousie University, the University of Aarhus (Denmark), the Finnish Meteorological Institute, MDA Space Missions, and Optech Inc., with $37 million in funding from the Canadian Space Agency.

The briefing will be streamed live on the NASA TV website, at: http://www.nasa.tv .

Media contact:
Melissa Hughes, Media Relations, York University: 416 736 2100 x22097, mehughes@yorku.ca

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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