Mars touchdown today

Tashah · 05-25-08, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Phoenix Mars Lander Prepares For Touchdown, Unprecedented Exploration
If successful, Phoenix will demonstrate the many benefits of NASA's collaboration with academia and the private sector.

By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek
May 22, 2008 03:38 PM

The Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet this Sunday, and if the landing is successful, NASA could receive images of the planet's landscape that have never been seen before. "The Phoenix Mission, as the first of NASA's Scout Missions, is truly breaking new ground in planetary exploration," Peter Smith, principal investigator for the Phoenix, said in a statement. "We are landing our spacecraft in a place where none has gone before to better understand Mars' secrets." The Mars Society said the Phoenix has the potential to change people's view of Mars, from a scientific perspective and in terms of project development.

"This is a very exciting mission," Chris Carberry, executive director of the Mars Society, said in a statement. "Phoenix will tell us a great deal about water on Mars, including whether it is readily accessible today as ice within the martian soil. Additionally, if successful, Phoenix will demonstrate the many benefits of NASA's collaboration with academia and the private sector, including improved cost efficiency and innovative new design concepts." If the Phoenix lands properly, it will explore the northern plains of Mars.

The lander has an arm that can dig trenches and analytical tools that could study water believed to be just below the surface of frozen soil. Solar arrays are expected to power the Phoenix, while a meteorological station and a thermal and evolved-gas analyzer will feed information about conditions. A surface stereoscopic imager has cameras spaced as far apart as human eyes, which allow it to capture three-dimensional images and panoramic views. The information it gathers is expected to help scientists understand the planet's history and determine whether there is or was life on Mars.

InformationWeek

All success and best wishes to the Phoenix Mission specialists in Tucson and JPL. May your Barsoomian harvest be extraordinary and bountiful!

aegyptos · 05-25-08, 12:01 PM

Here's hoping for good luck with this mission. I found the history of the vehicle to be very interesting.

independent_thinker2002 · 05-25-08, 04:13 PM

Let's hope it has a safe touchdown.

Should they kick the extra point or go for 2?

WI Crippler · 05-25-08, 08:00 PM

Looks like the touchdown was succesful just now. Hopefully the solar arrays work and everything is in working order.

aegyptos · 05-26-08, 08:17 AM

Woohoo! Its sending back photos of a flat featureless plain near the north pole.

Tashah · 05-26-08, 09:03 AM

(Courtesy of NASA)

One of the first images captured by the PML shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains here on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice. The lighter areas in this image are very reminiscent of surface ice crystals reflecting sunlight. Extraordinary!

donsutherland1 · 05-26-08, 09:45 AM

For those who are interested, NASA's webpages devoted to the Phoenix can be found at: NASA - Phoenix

One approximate-color image that was taken earlier today:

Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

obvious Child · 05-27-08, 03:51 AM

Looks like Arizona/New Mexico/Nevada.

*sarcasm hat on*

It's a CONSPIRACY! There is no landing! Just like how the moon landing were done in a hollywood studio!

*sarcasm hat off*

Intransigent Atheist · 05-27-08, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by obvious Child

Looks like Arizona/New Mexico/Nevada.

*sarcasm hat on*

It's a CONSPIRACY! There is no landing! Just like how the moon landing were done in a hollywood studio!

*sarcasm hat off*

Right on!

You gotta love those "Faked Apollo Moon Landing" nuts.

bhkad · 05-27-08, 07:35 PM

Amy Wong
Futurama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and

Otis Sistrunk
Otis Sistrunk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Should both be smiling at the news.