 Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona  Phoenix Mission Ready For Mars LandingMay 13, 2008 Washington -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistsful of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet May 25.Phoenix will enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at almost 13,000 mph. In seven minutes, the spacecraft must complete a challenging sequence of events to slow to about 5 mph before its three legs reach the ground. Confirmation of the landing could come as early as 7:53 p.m. EDT, 4:53 p.m. MST. "This is not a trip to grandma's house. Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Internationally, fewer than half the attempts have succeeded." Read More EVENTS
May 25, 2008
Landing Celebration The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory invites you to a landing celebration for the Phoenix Mars... Learn More RECENT PRESS RELEASES & ARTICLESMay 13, 2008 NASA to Discuss Phoenix Mission Upcoming Mars Landing by Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMay 09, 2008Intense Testing Paved Phoenix Road To Mars by Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMay 01, 2008Model Mars Lander Part of NASA's 50th Anniversary Celebration by University CommunicationsApril 27, 2008The Man Who Invented Mars by Nancy Zaroulis |
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The Phoenix Mission is led by Principal Investigator Peter H. Smith of The University of Arizona, supported by a science team of CO-Is,
with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and development partnership with Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
International contributions are provided by the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Additional information on Phoenix is online at here and here.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Additional information on NASA's Mars program is online at here.
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In remembrance of Diane Michelangeli