The Phoenix lander has been busy in the polar region of Mars. After a flawless landing, set-up and testing period it started reaching out with its mechanical arm and scooping up soil samples for deposit in its tiny but extremely powerful ovens.

So why would anyone want to make mud pies on Mars?

It’s quite simple, really. Phoenix is trying to find water, and the easiest way to do that is to heat up the dirt and analyze the vapors that emerge.

There are three stages to this process: The first one will warm the dirt just enough to melt any possible water. The second is a bit hotter, designed to turn any water into steam. Finally, a grueling 1,000 degrees Celsius would break up any chemical bonds the water molecules might have with other minerals or gases, and again the vapor could be detected.

So far the lander hasn’t had any luck, but that might also have to do with the fact that the sample sat out in the open air for a while, and with Mars’ lower atmospheric pressure the water might have evaporated before it even hit the oven.

There were some issues with getting the lumpy soil through the screens into the oven compartment — hence the delay — but they appear to be solved now.

Of course it would be all much easier if we could just hop to Mars, dig up some dirt, bring it home and scrutinize it in the safety and comfort of a terrestrial lab. Instead, Phoenix is very much alone on the Martian surface, its only link with Earth a radio connection.

The sheer logistics of dealing with the distance, the inhospitable environment, chilling temperatures and the time it takes to communicate with the lander are pretty staggering.

Still, that doesn’t keep the mission support team from doing their best to stay on schedule: the Martian winter is approaching fast, and the life span of the equipment is limited by the increasingly terrible weather. It’s hard to work when you’re covered in frozen gases from head to toe!

Meanwhile, the search for water continues. A mysterious white material that showed up in a digging trench continues to enthrall scientists and engineers alike, and countless other spectators are wondering what it might be.

Could it be ice? Is it a rock surface? Who knows what Phoenix will cook up in the next few weeks!

Alas, it won’t be palatable for the average Joe, but as far as science goes, the Martian Bakery is the most happening place on the red planet.

Take a gander at what’s cooking at http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

Beate Czogalla is the associate professor of theater design in the Department of Music and Theater at Georgia College & State University. She has had a lifelong interest in space exploration and has been a solar system ambassador for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/ NASA for many years. She can be reached at our_space2@yahoo.com