mars phoenix lander mission

it is clear that the human race is outstripping the ability of the planet earth to support us for very much longer. very much longer is a relative term to the history of the earth but in terms of the history of mankind it is imperative that we establish the possibility of extending our place in the universe beyond our home planet.

to this end, n.a.s.a. has a four step plan that is driving its efforts towards mars:

1. determine whether life ever arose on mars

2. characterize the climate of mars

3. characterize the geology of mars

4. prepare for human exploration

on saturday, august 4, 2007, the mars phoenix project - a joint effort of nasa and the university of arizona took off from cape canaveral on its journey to the red planet.

here is a beautiful photograph of the noctilucent cloud created by the exhaust gas from the delta II 7925 rocket used to launch phoenix.
what’s cool about this cloud is that it not only took on the appearance of the mythical phoenix bird, but that it also took on the red and blue colors of the phoenix mars lander logo.

the mission is innovative in many ways firstly being a collaborative project between nasa and a public university and also because it is the first of the new “scout” program. the scout program is characterized by the fact that they are led by a scientist, known as a principal investigator (p.i.). peter smith of the university of arizona's lunar and planetary laboratory is phoenix's p.i. and is responsible for all aspects of the mission.

phoenix’s objectives to support nasa’s goals, are to (1) study the history of water in the martian arctic and (2) search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary. specifically, phoenix intends to visit the martian northern arctic plain, where discoveries made in 2002 by the mars odyssey orbiter indicated that there are large quantities of subsurface water ice water ice lurks just below ground level. the phoenix lander is going to use a robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to the water ice below and ultimately, bring both soil and water ice to the lander platform for analysis.

here’s a map of mars centered on its north pole. regions of high ice content are shown in violet and blue and lower concentrations are shown in red.
there is a canadian element to this mission as well. after phoenix touches down on mars, its canadian weather station will begin to study the arctic region of mars. the instruments will measure pressure and temperature, assessing local climate patterns as well as dust, clouds, and fog in the lower atmosphere.
here’s an animation of the phoenix lander’s entry into the martian atmosphere . . . .

here’s a video produced by the university of arizona . . .


and some more video footage . . .


the first possible confirmation of the spacecraft's landing on may 25 was at 4:53 p.m. pacific daylight time. after the event happened, it took 15 minutes and 20 seconds for the radio signals traveling at the speed of light to cross the distance from mars to earth. here are the first images - the mars arctic plain . . . a closer look at the surface . .
more information can be found at the discovery channel site. nasa’s main mission site is also an excellent resource.