Phoenix Lands On Mars
Success as Nasa's Phoenix spacecraft sends back historic pictures after landing on the Red Planet.
Nasa’s Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft has sent back historic first pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.
The small probe landed safely on Mars’ North pole on an expedition to find out whether there has ever been life on the Red Planet
It took the Lander ten months to reach the planet at almost 13,000 mph, blazing through the skies before touching down on a frozen desert after a 423 million-mile journey from Earth. Whilst there it will search for water and assess conditions for sustaining life.
The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface and has now began to examine the site for evidence of the building blocks of life.
Phoenix landed after a perilous plunge through the planet’s atmosphere and it is the first time a spacecraft has successfully landed at one of the planet’s polar regions.
A signal confirming the lander had reached the surface was received at 0053 BST on Monday, 26th May.
A flight controller at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California announced “Phoenix has landed – welcome to the northern plain of Mars.”
Engineers and scientists clapped and cheered before embracing after hearing the landing signal come through.
Landing on Mars is a notoriously tricky business. There has been about a 50% failure rate on all Mars missions since Russia launched the first one back in 1960.
Phoenix released a parachute and used pulsed thrusters to slow to a fast walking speed, and then descended the last few minutes to the Martian soil to land on three legs – a method familiar to fans of TV puppets Thunderbirds.
“This is not just a trip to grandma’s house. Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky,” said Ed Weiler, Nasa’s space science chief in Washington.
“We haven’t landed successfully on legs and propulsive rockets in 32 years.
“When we send humans there, women and men, they’re going to be landing on rockets and legs, so it’s important to show that we still know how to do this.”
The Nasa team monitored each stage of the descent and landing process through radio messages relayed to Earth via the Odyssey satellite in orbit around Mars.
“In my dreams, it couldn’t have gone as perfectly as it did tonight,” said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at JPL.
Nasa found out more about the landing when pictures from the probe reached Earth.
The first images showed the “Arctic plain” where Phoenix came to rest – a region of Mars that has never been seen up close before.
Other shots confirmed that the probe had unfurled successfully, and that it had landed safely on its legs.
The spacecraft will begin its three-month science mission using a robotic arm to dig through the protective Martian topsoil and lift samples of both soil and ice to its desk for scientific analysis.
The probe was launched on 4th August 2007 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, to sample the water and determine if the right ingredients for life are present.
Scientists found in 2002 that Mars’ polar regions have vast reservoirs of water frozen beneath a shallow layer of soil.
Orbiters flying around Mars had surveyed the landing site in great detail and found signs that water is buried 10cm or less below the surface.
Nasa and the world is now waiting to discover whether life can flourish on Earth’s nearest neighbour.
Have your say...
Be the first to leave your comment.
Send To A Friend
Printer Friendly
Add Page To Favorites
Green Issues With Michael Wale
Apple Lovers
Michael Wale visits a Herefordshire orchard brought back to life by the public.
Spotlight
Meet 50connect's Columnists
From relationship advice to environmental issues; life as an ex-pat living in France and the highs and lows of going back to study; read the latest from our regular contributors.
Bookmark with:
Don’t know what this is?
Read the 50connect Guide To Social Bookmarking.