A device built at The University of Texas at Dallas is due to land on Planet Mars May 25th. 

 

The mass spectrometer will help test Martian soil and atmosphere in search of water and signs of past life on Mars.

 

Physics professor Dr. John Hoffman built the device in his lab at UTD.  He has been involved in space exploration for decades. 

Hoffman worked on Apollo missions to the moon and studies of Haley’s comet.  Dr. Hoffman says the Phoenix robotic spacecraft carrying his latest equipment is due to land in a region of Mars that is promising in the search for past life on the planet.  He says the study of frozen Mars offers clues about our own planet Earth.  If all goes well, UTD’s Dr. Hoffman will soon help provide new data from Mars!