PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25 landing on the Red Planet.

"This is our first trajectory maneuver targeting a specific location in the northern polar region of Mars," said Brian Portock, chief of the Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars.


This artist's concept shows NASA's Phoenix spacecraft en route to Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

NASA has conditionally approved a landing site in a broad, flat valley informally called "Green Valley." A final decision will be made after NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter takes additional images of the area this month.

The orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera has taken more than three dozen images of the area. Analysis of those images prompted the Phoenix team to shift the center of the landing target 13 kilometers (8 miles) southeastward, away from slightly rockier patches to the northwest. Navigators used that new center for planning today's maneuver.

The landing area is an ellipse about 62 miles by about 12 miles (100 kilometers by 20 kilometers). Researchers have mapped more than five million rocks in and around that ellipse, each big enough to end the mission if hit by the spacecraft during landing. Knowing where to avoid the rockier areas, the team has selected a scientifically exciting target that also offers the best chances for the spacecraft to set itself down safely onto the Martian surface.

"Our landing area has the largest concentration of ice on Mars outside of the polar caps. If you want to search for a habitable zone in the arctic permafrost, then this is the place to go," said Peter Smith, principal investigator for the mission, at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Phoenix will dig to an ice-rich layer expected to lie within arm's reach of the surface. It will analyze the water and soil for evidence about climate cycles and investigate whether the environment there has been favorable for microbial life.

"We have never before had so much information about a Mars site prior to landing," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis. Arvidson is chairman of the Phoenix landing-site working group and has worked on Mars landings since the first successful Viking landers in 1976.

"The environmental risks at landing -- rocks and slopes -- represent the most significant threat to a successful mission. There's always a chance that we'll roll snake eyes, but we have identified an area that is very flat and relatively free of large boulders," said JPL's David Spencer, Phoenix deputy project manager and co-chair of the landing site working group.

Today's trajectory adjustment began by pivoting Phoenix 145 degrees to orient and then fire spacecraft thrusters for about 35 seconds, then pivoting Phoenix back to point its main antenna toward Earth. The mission has three more planned opportunities for maneuvers before May 25 to further refine the trajectory for a safe landing at the desired location.

In the final seven minutes of its flight on May 25, Phoenix must perform a challenging series of actions to safely decelerate from nearly 21,000 kilometers per hour (13,000 mph). The spacecraft will release a parachute and then use pulse thrusters at approximately 914 meters (3,000 feet) from the surface to slow to about 8 kilometers per hour (5 mph) and land on three legs.

"Landing on Mars is extremely challenging. In fact, not since the 1970s have we had a successful powered landing on this unforgiving planet. There's no guarantee of success, but we are doing everything we can to mitigate the risks," said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

For more information about Phoenix, visit: _http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix and _http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. 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 Finnish Meteorological Institute.


Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

2008-059

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander continues on course for its May 25 arrival at Mars. After targeting its certified landing site with a trajectory, or flight path, correction maneuver on April 10, the spacecraft's performance has been stable enough for the mission's operators to forgo the scheduled opportunity for an additional trajectory correction maneuver on May 10 and focus on the next such opportunity, on May 17.


This artist's concept shows NASA's Phoenix spacecraft en route to Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

The Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., made that recommendation after assessing the trajectory this week and mission management accepted the recommendation late Thursday. Phoenix has performed three flight path correction maneuvers since its Aug. 4, 2007, launch. Besides the May 17 one, the final opportunity for adjusting the course to hit the targeted landing area will be in the final 24 hours before landing.

The first possible confirmation time for the spacecraft's landing on May 25 will be at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The event would have happened 15 minutes and 20 seconds earlier on Mars, and then radio signals traveling at the speed of light will take 15 minutes and 20 seconds to cross the distance from Mars to Earth on that day.

The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. 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 Finnish Meteorological Institute.


Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

When NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander descends to the surface of the Red Planet on May 25, few will be watching as closely as the men and women who have spent years planning, analyzing and conducting tests to prepare for the dramatic and nerve-wracking event known as EDL - Entry, Descent and Landing. For after all their hard work, they know that landing on Mars is not a walk in the park. Less than 50 percent of all previous lander missions have made it safely to the surface.


JPL engineer Lori Shiraishi inspects the scoop on
the end of the robotic arm while the spacecraft was
being assembled and tested before its Aug. 4, 2007,
launch.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of
Arizona/Lockheed Martin
› Full image and caption

Like all missions, Phoenix was motivated by the potential science rewards. With its robotic arm, Phoenix will be the first mission to reach out and touch water ice in Mars’ north polar region. The mission will study the history of the water in the ice, monitor weather of the polar region, and investigate whether the subsurface environment in the far-northern plains of Mars has ever been favorable for sustaining microbial life.

Much of the Phoenix spacecraft already sat in secure storage when, in 2003, NASA selected it over other proposals to fly to Mars. Phoenix's main systems were designed and built for launch as the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, but that mission was canceled in February 2000, after the loss of a similar spacecraft, the Mars Polar Lander, during its arrival at Mars in 1999.

The team that proposed the Phoenix mission, led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, developed a plan to bring the spacecraft out of storage, thoroughly analyze and test it, resolve all known problems, and add upgrades so it could pursue a new set of science goals. The spacecraft heritage of the 2001 lander, derived from the "faster, better, cheaper" era, brought with it opportunities, along with several challenges.

Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., discussed the team's approach to adapting a pre-built spacecraft for this mission, instead of developing one from scratch: "One consequence of having so much of the hardware in place from the start was that we could focus our resources into testing and analysis. We evaluated the robustness of the vehicle to perform the mission we designed, most notably the entry, descent and landing."

The team first focused on correcting all the vulnerabilities identified by earlier investigations into the loss of the Mars Polar Lander. "That wasn't enough," Goldstein said. "We eventually identified and mitigated more than a dozen other potential issues with the spacecraft that could have had dire consequences." Extensive testing and analysis also identified concerns that could have affected the lander, solar array deployment, and its science instruments after arrival on the Martian surface. However, an acceptable amount of risk still exists--for example, most hardware is at least 8 to 10 years old, and certain subsystems have no redundancy during the entry, descent and landing.

Goldstein said, "We’ve done everything we can to lower the risks of this mission to acceptable levels, but in no way does that mean we’ve eliminated all risk. Planetary exploration is risky by its very nature, and there are numerous challenges ahead of us, the first of which is entry, descent and landing."

Here are descriptions of five examples of problematic hardware and resolutions resulting from the extensive work done by the Phoenix engineering and science team.

Radar


Two participants help test the radar system for
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech
› Full image and caption

Phoenix uses a radar system initially designed as an altimeter for fighter jets. During the final minutes before landing, after the spacecraft has jettisoned its heat shield, Phoenix will rely on the radar for information about not just the altitude, but also the descent velocity and the horizontal velocity. The onboard computer will use that information several times per second to adjust the firing of 12 descent thrusters.

Using the radar for this novel purpose required a tremendous amount of testing, "We did more than 60 hours of flight testing, including 72 different drops at three sites with different geological characteristics," said David Skulsky, a JPL engineer on the Phoenix team. That's more radar flight testing than all previous NASA Mars missions combined."

Radar tests also included custom-developed simulations of performance under Martian conditions. Running one of those simulator tests just four months before the spacecraft was due to be delivered to Florida for launch, Curtis Chen, a JPL radar engineer, noticed some strange behavior. Analysis confirmed that, under some circumstances, the radar could be confused by the jettisoned heat shield.

JPL's Dara Sabahi, chief engineer for Phoenix, said, "If this occurred in flight, the spacecraft would think it was much closer to the ground than it actually was. It would be a guaranteed failure."

Once the testing had revealed the potential problem, engineers designed a relatively simple solution using adjustments related to the timing of radar pulses. However, the schedule was tight, and additional flight tests were needed to be sure that fixing that issue had not created others. "We worked all the way to launch on the testing, and even did more testing after launch to be sure we understand the performance," Sabahi said.

In addition, NASA formed a Radar Independent Review Team of key radar experts to evaluate the activities of the Phoenix team working with the radar. The review team was chartered to determine if the radar had been properly characterized, if the important risks associated with its performance have been identified, mitigated, and that unmitigated residual radar risks represented a low risk to the mission. The Phoenix team followed all recommendations from the Independent Review Team. The review team endorsed the approach taken by the project to resolve all anomalies. They concluded that the probability for a successful landing on Mars under radar guidance was comparable to or better than that of prior missions.

Parachute

The lander will separate from its parachute about 40 seconds before reaching the ground. Thrusters will begin firing half a second later and continue pulsing all the way to the surface, controlling both vertical and horizontal velocity, plus the spacecraft's orientation.

"We did some analysis that showed there was a three-to-five percent chance, depending on wind conditions, that the lander would have some kind of re-contact with the parachute," said Rob Grover, chief of the Phoenix entry, descent and landing team at JPL. "The worst situation would be to have the parachute come down right on top of the lander and prevent deployment of the solar arrays."

Rather than rely on the odds against such an occurrence, engineers designed a maneuver for the lander to avoid the parachute. Horizontal motion identified by the radar while the lander is still connected to the parachute will indicate wind direction and speed. If the wind is strong, the parachute will blow away on its own. If the wind is weak, the lander will use its thrusters after separating from the parachute to push itself upwind, away from the falling parachute.

Motors

The robotic arm on Phoenix uses four electric motors from the same lot of 211 motors originally purchased for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project. Fifty of the motors were sent to Mars on rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Of the remaining motors, later testing identified two whose brushes were broken. Motor brushes provide electrical contact between moving and stationary parts of the motor. The brushes in these motors are solid pieces of a special mixture of copper, graphite and molybdenum made for Martian conditions.

The motors installed on the Phoenix spacecraft had been tested and showed no trouble. In addition, their counterparts on Spirit and Opportunity have far outperformed their design life under stressful real-Mars conditions. For the Phoenix team, the issue was how to assess whether the two broken brushes were enough reason not to rely on the motors in the robotic arm. Goldstein, the Phoenix project manager, said, "We did not rest on these motors' excellent track record with Spirit and Opportunity. We did our own testing."

The Phoenix project put the arm motors through additional testing and also turned to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, a resource created for providing just such assistance with independent analysis of engineering issues related to risk for NASA projects. The Phoenix team followed recommendations from a review team formed by the center. These recommendations included using sensors to monitor any jarring of the motors during transportation of Phoenix from Denver, where it was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, to Florida for launch.

Scoop

Central to the design of the Phoenix mission is the intent to dig to an icy layer under the surface and deliver some of the ice-rich soil to a small laboratory on the deck of the lander. That icy soil will probably be as hard as concrete.

The original design for the scoop at the end of the arm had three sets of metal blades for cutting and scraping to loosen enough icy soil to sample. The Phoenix team ran tests using sample materials as tough as those expected on Mars.

JPL engineer Lori Shiraishi said, "We found it took four to six hours to get enough material, but you are also fighting sublimation of the ice. The ice would be disappearing by the time you are trying to pick it up."

In 2005, the team began working on an alternative design to loosen and collect an icy sample more quickly. JPL's Gregory Peters came up with the idea of a motorized rasp to replace one of the sets of blades. Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corp., New York, built and tested the redesigned scoop. The rasp uses a tile-cutting bit lowered at an angle through a slot in the bottom of the scoop. Tests indicate the system can loosen and lift and deliver an icy sample in about half an hour, which is believed to be quick enough to outrun sublimation of the exposed ice under Martian atmospheric conditions.

Stowaway carbon

The Phoenix team has tested all of the lander's science instruments extensively. One that sniffs vapors generated from heating samples of soil and ice will be checking for organic molecules. Most carbon-containing chemicals are called organics. Organic chemicals can be present without life, but they are an essential ingredient for life as we know it. Testing made clear that this instrument -- the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer -- is sensitive enough to detect the trace amounts of organics that are likely to come from Earth aboard the lander.

"We want to be able to determine whether we're just seeing organics we brought along with us," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, Tucson, lead scientist for this instrument.

The university assembled a meeting of organic chemists from around the country in 2005 for a discussion of how to prepare for analyzing the data from Phoenix. From that workshop came a recommendation for Phoenix to carry "blank" material specially made to be as free of carbon as possible, for use as an experimental control for comparison with samples of Martian soil and ice.

The Phoenix team assessed various possibilities for the blank material. The lander is carrying a block of a custom-made, very-low-carbon ceramic product from Corning Inc. During operations at the landing site, the powered rasp will be able to produce shavings from the blank for analysis. The results will help scientists interpret whether any organics found during analysis of Martian samples actually came from those samples.

There are many other examples of how the Phoenix mission has identified concerns through testing and analysis, and then resolved them.

Goldstein said, "I can't guarantee success. We are in the business of taking risks, doing things that are very difficult. However, I am confident that we have a world-class team that has dug as deep as it could to find any problems."


Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls 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.


The landing site chosen for NASA's Mars Phoenix
Lander is much farther north than the sites where
previous spacecraft have landed on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

"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."

Rocks large enough to spoil the landing or prevent opening of the solar panels present the biggest known risk. However, images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, detailed enough to show individual rocks smaller than the lander, have helped lessen that risk.

"We have blanketed nearly the entire landing area with HiRISE images," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, chairman of the Phoenix landing-site working group. "This is one of the least rocky areas on all of Mars and we are confident that rocks will not detrimentally impact the ability of Phoenix to land safely."

Phoenix uses hardware from a spacecraft built for a 2001 launch that was canceled in response to the loss of a similar Mars spacecraft during a 1999 landing attempt. Researchers who proposed the Phoenix mission in 2002 saw the unused spacecraft as a resource for pursuing a new science opportunity.

Earlier in 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that plentiful water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of competitively selected missions. "Phoenix will land farther north on Mars than any previous mission," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"The Phoenix mission not only studies the northern permafrost region, but takes the next step in Mars exploration by determining whether this region, which may encompass as much as 25 percent of the Martian surface, is habitable," said Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 7.7-foot arm to scoop up samples of underground ice and soil lying above the ice. Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. Cameras and a Canadian-supplied weather station will supply other information about the site's environment.

One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever have been favorable for microbial life. The composition and texture of soil above the ice could give clues to whether the ice ever melts in response to long-term climate cycles. Another important question is whether the scooped-up samples contain carbon-based chemicals that are potential building blocks and food for life.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith with project management at JPL. The development partnership is with Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more about the Phoenix mission on the Web, visit:

_http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

Media contacts: Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Sara Hammond
University of Arizona, Tucson
520-626-1974
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Few Rocks in Target Area for Phoenix Mars Lander

05.13.08

Bright green indicates areas with few large rocks on this shaded relief map of the area in and around the targeted landing site for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander.

The rectangular patches color-coded with bright green, red and yellow are areas where rock abundance has been tabulated from images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The key is on the legend of the map. For example, each hectare (2.5 acres) of the green-coded areas has three or fewer rocks with a width of 1.5 meters (5 feet) or more. The red-coded areas have more then 19 rocks that size per hectare.

Phoenix will reach Mars on May 25, 2008. The center of the targeted landing area is at the center of the set of ellipses superimposed on the map. Plans call for navigating Phoenix to hit a target at the top of Mars' atmosphere so that the spacecraft will have a 66 percent chance of landing within the smallest of the three ellipses and a 99 percent chance of landing within the largest of the three.

The rock-abundance coding on this map covers up portions of a different set of color-coding, for various terrain units in the area. An impact crater informally named "Heimdall" lies in the orange-coded area northeast of the targeted landing site. The crater is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide.

A pair of rectangles highlighted with dark outlines show the location of two specific images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment: image PSP_001906_2485 near the center of the target ellipses, and image PSP_001972_2485 at the western tip of the largest ellipse.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› High-resolution TIFF (20Mb)

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Polygon Patterned Ground on Mars and on Earth

05.13.08

Some high-latitude areas on Mars (left) and Earth (right) exhibit similarly patterned ground where shallow fracturing has drawn polygons on the surface.

This patterning may result from cycles of freezing and thawing.

The left image shows ground within the targeted landing area NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander before the winter frost had entirely disappeared from the surface.

The bright ice in shallow crevices accentuates the area's polygonal fracturing pattern. The polygons are a few meters (several feet) across.

The image is a small portion of an exposure taken in March 2008 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The image on the right is an aerial view of similarly patterned ground in Antarctica.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Larger view - Mars
› Larger view - Antarctica

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Earth Site Corresponding to Phoenix Mars Lander's Targeted Site

05.13.08

The targeted landing site for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is at about 68 degrees north latitude, 233 degrees east longitude in the Martian arctic.

On Earth, those coordinates specify a location in northwestern Canada.

Canada supplied the Phoenix spacecraft's Meteorological Station.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Larger view

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Water Mass Map from Neutron Spectrometer

05.13.08

This map shows the estimated lower limit of the water content of the upper meter of Martian soil. The estimates are derived from the hydrogen abundance measured by the neutron spectrometer component of the gamma ray spectrometer suite on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

The highest water-mass fractions, exceeding 30 percent to well over 60 percent, are in the polar regions, beyond about 60 degrees latitude north or south. Farther from the poles, significant concentrations are in the area bound in longitude by minus 10 degrees to 50 degrees and in latitude by 30 degrees south to 40 degrees north, and in an area to the south and west of Olympus Mons (30 degrees to 0 degrees south latitude and minus 135 degrees to 110 degrees longitude).

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for the NASA Office of Space Science in Washington. Investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science instruments. The gamma-ray spectrometer was provided by the University of Arizona in collaboration with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, which provided the high-energy neutron detector, and the Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico, which provided the neutron spectrometer. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Los Alamos National Laboratory

› Larger view

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Phoenix Landing Area With Few Rocks

05.13.08

Researchers assessing the targeted landing area for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have used images from a powerful telescopic camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to count rocks in and around the intended landing area.

This image from the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows ground with very few rocks, close the center of the landing target. It also shows patterned ground, fractured into polygons. Similar polygonal patterns can be found in some areas of repeated freezing and thawing on Earth. The relief of the polygons in this image is highlighted by a low sun angle.

For scale, an illustration of the Phoenix lander, which is about 5.5 meters (18 feet) by 2 meters (7 feet), is artificially superimposed on a full-resolution subset of HiRISE image (right).

HiRISE took this image on Dec. 22, 2006. The full image (most of which is shown on the left) is centered at 68.2 degrees north latitude, 233.6 degrees east longitude. It covers terrain categorized as "lowland bright" by researchers evaluating the landing site. The image is calalogued as HiRISE PSP_001906_2485.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› High-resolution TIFF (20Mb)

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Rocks More Abundant Outside of Targeted Landing Area

05.13.08

Researchers assessing the targeted landing area for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have used images from a powerful telescopic camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to count rocks in and around the intended landing area.

This image from the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows ground with a farily high abundance of rocks, west of the landing target. It also shows patterned ground, fractured into polygons. Similar polygonal patterns can be found in some areas of repeated freezing and thawing on Earth. The relief of the polygons in this image is highlighted by a low sun angle.

For scale, an illustration of the Phoenix lander, which is about 5.5 meters (18 feet) by 2 meters (7 feet), is artificially superimposed on a full-resolution subset of HiRISE image (right).

HiRISE took this image on Dec. 28, 2006. The full image (most of which is shown on the left) is centered at 68.5 degrees north latitude, 231.8 degrees east longitude. It covers terrain categorized as "lowland dark" by researchers evaluating the landing site. The image is calalogued as HiRISE PSP_001972_2485.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› High-resolution TIFF (20Mb)

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

Rocks More Abundant Outside of Targeted Landing Area

05.13.08

This shaded relief map shows the topography and color-coded types of terrain in and around the targeted landing site for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander.

The spacecraft will reach Mars on May 25, 2008. The center of the targeted landing area is at the center of the set of ellipses superimposed on the map. Plans call for navigating Phoenix to hit a target at the top of Mars' atmosphere so that the spacecraft will have a 66 percent chance of landing within the smallest of the three ellipses and a 99 percent chance of landing within the largest of the three.

An impact crater informally named "Heimdall" lies in the orange-coded area northeast of the targeted landing site. The crater is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide. Material ejected from Heimdall has been mapped as a rocky inner portion (orange) and an outer portion (yellow). The outer ejecta is relatively rock-free, as is the "lowland bright" unit (light blue), which is probably an even farther-out portion of where material ejected from Heimdall has been deposited. These two ejecta units thus provide a rock-free and flat terrain for the Phoenix landing.

The "lowland dark" (dark blue) unit has more rocks detectable from orbit than the lowland bright unit.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› High-resolution TIFF (20Mb)

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Multimedia

May 13, 2008: NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Sunday, May 25th.

see captionPhoenix 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.



"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 of all attempts to land on Mars have succeeded."

Rocks large enough to spoil the landing or prevent opening of the solar panels present the greatest known risk. However, images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, detailed enough to show individual rocks smaller than the lander, have helped lessen that risk.

"We have blanketed nearly the entire landing area with HiRISE images," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, chairman of the Phoenix landing-site working group. "This is one of the least rocky areas on all of Mars and we are confident that rocks will not detrimentally impact the ability of Phoenix to land safely."



Earlier in 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that plentiful water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of competitively selected missions.

"Phoenix will land farther north on Mars than any previous mission," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 7.7-foot arm to scoop up samples of soil and underground ice. Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. Cameras and a Canadian-supplied weather station will supply other information about the site's environment.

Above: An artist's concept: Months after landing, Phoenix begins to shut down operations as winter sets in. Far-northern latitudes on Mars experience no sunlight during winter, depriving the solar-powered lander of electricity. Frost covering the region as the atmosphere cools will eventually bury Phoenix in ice.

"The Phoenix mission not only studies the northern permafrost region, but also takes the next step in Mars exploration by determining whether this frosty region, which may encompass as much as 25 percent of the Martian surface, is habitable," said Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever have been favorable for microbial life. The composition and texture of soil above the ice could give clues to whether the ice ever melts in response to long-term climate cycles. Another important question is whether the scooped-up samples contain carbon-based chemicals that are potential building blocks and food for life itself.

Stay tuned to Science@NASA for updates. And good luck, Phoenix!



Phoenix --mission home page

Credits: The Phoenix mission is led by Smith with project management at JPL. The development partnership is with Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute

NASA's Future: US Space Exploration Policy

Source: Science@NASA

Engineers are considering a maneuver that would nudge the flight path of Phoenix toward a targeted landing spot 18 kilometers to the northwest, with the goal of hitting the center of the certified landing zone. A final decision on the trajectory maneuver will be made Saturday afternoon, with execution at 9:00 pm PDT.


This artist's concept shows NASA's Phoenix spacecraft en route to Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Phoenix successfully performed a maneuver on May 17 to adjust its course slightly toward the center of the approved landing area. Following a design from the mission's navigation team, the spacecraft fired its four trajectory-correction thrusters for less than two seconds. The next scheduled opportunity for a course correction will be May 24, the day before landing..


This artist's concept shows NASA's Phoenix spacecraft en route to Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

PASADENA, Calif. -- With three days and 3 million miles left to fly before arriving at Mars, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft is on track for its destination in the Martian arctic.

"The latest calculation from our navigation team shows the center of the area where we're currently headed lies less than eight miles from the center of our target area," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We may decide on Saturday that we don't need to use our final opportunity for fine tuning the trajectory Phoenix is on. Either way, we will continue to monitor the trajectory throughout Saturday night, on the off chance we need to execute our contingency maneuver eight hours before entry."


This artist's montage shows NASA's Phoenix
spacecraft en route to and landing on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
› Larger view

The spacecraft is in fine health.

"All systems are nominal and stable," said Ed Sedivy, Phoenix spacecraft program manager for Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, which built the spacecraft. "We have plenty of propellant, the temperatures look good and the batteries are fully charged."

The spacecraft is closing in on the scariest seven minutes of the mission.

On Sunday, shortly after the annual 500-mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Phoenix will be approaching Mars at about 12,750 miles per hour, a speed that could cover 500 miles in 2 minutes and 22 seconds. After it enters the top of the Martian atmosphere at that velocity, it must use superheated friction with the atmosphere, a strong parachute and a set of pulsing retrorockets to achieve a safe, three-legged standstill touchdown on the surface in just seven minutes.

The earliest possible time when mission controllers could get confirmation from Phoenix indicating it has survived landing will be at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time). Of 11 previous attempts that various nations have made to land spacecraft on Mars, only five have succeeded.

Phoenix will land farther north on Mars than any previous mission, at a site expected to have ice-rich permafrost beneath the surface, but within reach of the lander's robotic arm.

"Last instructions were given to the science team at our final meeting at the University of Arizona Tuesday," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "This week, we are conducting our dress rehearsal before opening night on Sunday." The science team is slowly adjusting to working on Mars time, in which each day lasts 24.66 hours, in preparation for a demanding mission.

Smith said, "We are ready to robotically operate our science lab in the Martian arctic and dig through the layers of history to the ice-rich soil below."

Phoenix is equipped to study the history of the water now frozen into the site's permafrost, to check for carbon-containing chemicals that are essential ingredients for life, and to monitor polar-region weather on Mars from a surface perspective for the first time.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

2008-079

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Phoenix has finally made the National News. I came across this video just this morning.

"Seven minutes of terror" for sure...considering all the work that's been done to come down to these seven *nail biting* minutes! I'm sooo hoping that this landing goes off without a hitch (fingers and toes all crossed).

^Good to see Lily, Phoenix even made the primetime news down here in Australia last night. Here's hoping everything goes smoothly.

Phoenix Lander Update

Highlights from Phoenix News Briefing at JPL -- Sat., May 24, 3 p.m. EDT

- A decision will be made this afternoon, Sat., May 24, about whether to perform one more trajectory correction maneuver later tonight.

- A dust cloud that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been tracking is moving across the landing area today. It is not expected to pose any hazard to the landing.

- As of noon PDT today, Phoenix had 1.28 million miles left to travel out of its 422-million-mile flight from Earth to Mars.


This artist's montage shows NASA's Phoenix
spacecraft en route to and landing on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
› Larger view


Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

2008-079

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Phoenix Lander Update: No Saturday Night Maneuver for Phoenix

Mission controllers for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander decided Saturday afternoon, May 24, to forgo the second-to-last opportunity for adjusting the spacecraft's flight path.


This artist's montage shows NASA's Phoenix
spacecraft en route to and landing on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
› Larger view

Phoenix is so well on course for its Sunday-evening landing on an arctic Martian plain that the team decided it was not necessary to do a trajectory correction 21 hours before landing.

However, the team left open the option of a correction maneuver eight hours before landing, if warranted by updated navigational information expected in the intervening hours.

Sunday at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time is the first possible time for confirmation that Phoenix has landed. The landing would have happened 15 minutes earlier on Mars, but the radio signals take 15 minutes to travel from Mars to Earth at the distance separating the two planets today.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

2008-079

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

No Final Nudge Needed for Phoenix

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will reach Mars this evening with no further adjustments to its flight path. Mission controllers decided early Sunday not to use the last possible time for a trajectory correction maneuver, eight hours before landing.


This artist's montage shows NASA's Phoenix
spacecraft en route to and landing on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
› Larger view

The first possible time for confirmation that Phoenix has landed will be at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time today. The landing would have happened 15 minutes earlier on Mars, but radio signals take 15 minutes to travel from Mars to Earth at the distance separating the two planets today, 171 million miles.

Follow events throughout the day on NASA TV and the Phoenix landing blog.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Mars Pulls Phoenix In

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander sped on Sunday morning toward its arrival at Mars, as the tug of the Red Planet's gravity accelerated the craft during the final day of its trip from Earth to Mars.

"Mars is literally pulling on our spacecraft, and at the same time it is pulling on our emotions," Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said early Sunday afternoon. "We are excited at how close we are right now to beginning our study of a site where Martian water ice will be within our reach, after all these years of preparations. Our science mission begins as the spacecraft settles into its new home on Mars."


This artist's montage shows NASA's Phoenix
spacecraft en route to Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
+ Play narrated landing animation
Landing ellipse[/color]

The spacecraft's speed relative to Mars increased from 6,300 miles per hour at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time to 8,500 mph at 12:30 p.m., headed for a speed higher than 12,000 mph before reaching the top of the Martian atmosphere.

Phoenix was on track for anticipated entry into the atmosphere at 4:30p.m. Pacific Time and reaching the surface at 4:38 p.m., although confirmation of those events comes no sooner than 15 minutes, 20 seconds later, due to the time needed for radio signals to travel from Mars to Earth.

Mission controllers decided Saturday night and Sunday morning to forgo the last two opportunities for adjusting the spacecraft's trajectory.

"We are so well on course that those adjustments were not necessary," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The most challenging part of the entire mission, getting from the top of the atmosphere to a safe landing on three legs, still lies ahead. Internationally, only five of the 11 attempts to land a spacecraft on Mars have succeeded.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith, with project management at JPL. The development partnership is with Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more about the Phoenix mission on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

2008-80

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

"Formula Mars" Spacecraft Increases Speed, Fueled by Martian Gravity

05.25.08

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is on its own now, pulled toward the uppermost reaches of the Martian atmosphere at increasingly greater velocities, courtesy of the Red Planet's gravitational pull. This chart shows the spacecraft's acceleration over a distance of 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers).

By 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time), Phoenix will be traveling 8,500 miles per hour (13,700 kilometers per hour) relative to Mars. When the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere, it will be moving at 12,700 miles per hour (20,500 kilometers per hour) relative to Mars.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Phoenix Almost There

05.25.08

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is targeted to land in a flat valley in the arctic plains of Mars, at the center of the blue ellipse shown here. It is most likely to touch down at the very center, and least likely to land at the ellipse's edges. The ellipse is approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) long and 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide.

The black pock-looking mark above and to the left of the center of the ellipse is a small pile of rocks, informally referred to as "The Hill," which is less than a few meters (less than 10 feet) tall and more than one kilometer (about one mile) in diameter. The circular indentation outside and to the right of the ellipse is an impact crater dubbed "Heimdall," after the Norse mythological watchman, or protector, of gods.

The map shown here is made up of topography data taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. It shows exaggerated differences in the height of the terrain.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- 6:00 pm EDT, May 25
- The Mars Phoenix Lander is on the home stretch to landing on the Red Planet's surface, with just 86,700 miles to go.
- Phoenix will touch down on Mars at about 4:38 pm PDT. The earliest possible confirmation of its landing could reach Earth 15 minutes later -- the length of time it takes for a signal to travel from Mars to Earth today.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- Propulsion System Pressurized
The propulsion system that feeds Phoenix's thrusters -- 12 for descent and four for orientation -- has been pressurized in preparation for firing.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- Cruise Stage Has Separated
Phoenix has relied on the 181 pounds of hardware to provide power during its 422-million-mile journey to Mars.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- Spacecraft Entered Atmosphere
The spacecraft has hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of about 78 miles. It is traveling at about 12,750 miles per hour. The temperature of Phoenix's heat shield will peak at about 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit during entry.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- Parachute Deployed/Heat Shield Jettison
The deployment took place while the spacecraft was at an altitude of about 7.8 miles and traveling about 1.7 times the speed of sound. About 15 seconds after the parachute deployed, the heat shield was jettisoned.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

Edited to add:
YES! Well done NASA. Phoenix is on the surface.

Mars Phoenix Lander Update -- Touchdown
A signal has been detected from Phoenix indicating that the lander is on the surface of Mars.
Above, an artist concept of the Phoenix lander on Mars.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

A fantastic accomplishment...a a tough one to endure!

19:54 EDT, Phoenix has landed, virtually perfectly (1/4 degree off of vertical!...unreal).

That's a hell of a party in Mission Control at JPL tonight.
We've got to have solar arrays deployed yet...which should be done by now...but we won't know until REAQ in about 45 minutes...


Super job to the guys at JPL!

Wasn't it just. Phoenix has lived up to it's name. It has risen from the ashes and laid the memory of Mars Polar Lander to rest.

indeed this was a magnificent achievement. can't wait to see what they find in the northern regions

Beautiful and amazing.

So awesome! Huge congrats to NASA and everyone involved!

1/4 degree off..... hopefully, we'll get even more practice, with much more exploration in future!

Exciting!

NS

NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Lands at Martian Arctic Site

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm.

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. The signals took that long to travel from Mars to Earth at the speed of light.


Artist's concept of the Phoenix spacecraft on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

Mission team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; and the University of Arizona, Tucson, cheered confirmation of the landing and eagerly awaited further information from Phoenix later tonight.

Among those in the JPL control room was NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, who noted this was the first successful Mars landing without airbags since Viking 2 in 1976.

"For the first time in 32 years, and only the third time in history, a JPL team has carried out a soft landing on Mars," Griffin said. "I couldn't be happier to be here to witness this incredible achievement."


Team members celebrate Phoenix landing on Mars.
Larger view

During its 422-million-mile flight from Earth to Mars after launching on Aug. 4, 2007, Phoenix relied on electricity from solar panels during the spacecraft's cruise stage. The cruise stage was jettisoned seven minutes before the lander, encased in a protective shell, entered the Martian atmosphere. Batteries provide electricity until the lander's own pair of solar arrays spread open.

"We've passed the hardest part and we're breathing again, but we still need to see that Phoenix has opened its solar arrays and begun generating power," said JPL's Barry Goldstein, the Phoenix project manager. If all goes well, engineers will learn the status of the solar arrays between 7 and 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time (10 and 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time) from a Phoenix transmission relayed via NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

The team will also be watching for the Sunday night transmission to confirm that masts for the stereo camera and the weather station have swung to their vertical positions.

"What a thrilling landing! But the team is waiting impatiently for the next set of signals that will verify a healthy spacecraft," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, principal investigator for the Phoenix mission. "I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. The first landed images of the Martian polar terrain will set the stage for our mission."

Another critical deployment will be the first use of the 7.7-foot-long robotic arm on Phoenix, which will not be attempted for at least two days. Researchers will use the arm during future weeks to get samples of soil and ice into laboratory instruments on the lander deck.

The signal confirming that Phoenix had survived touchdown was relayed via Mars Odyssey and received on Earth at the Goldstone, Calif., antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network.

Phoenix uses hardware from a spacecraft built for a 2001 launch that was canceled in response to the loss of a similar Mars spacecraft during a 1999 landing attempt. Researchers who proposed the Phoenix mission in 2002 saw the unused spacecraft as a resource for pursuing a new science opportunity. Earlier in 2002, Mars Odyssey discovered that plentiful water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of competitively selected missions.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

2008-81

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

Team members celebrate

05.25.08

Phoenix team members celebrate the Phoenix landing on Mars, May 25, 2008.

This image is a screen capture taken NASA TV.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Team members celebrate

05.25.08

Phoenix team members celebrate the Phoenix landing on Mars, May 25, 2008.

This image is a screen capture taken NASA TV.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Team members celebrate

05.25.08

Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, and JPL Director Charles Elachi celebrate the Phoenix landing on Mars, May 25, 2008. This image is a screen capture taken NASA TV.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Team members celebrate

05.25.08

Phoenix team members celebrate the Phoenix landing on Mars, May 25, 2008. This image is a screen capture taken NASA TV.

Image credit: NASA/JPL

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

The solar panels have opened and Phoenix has returned its first images. I will post them as soon as I can.

Phoenix Raw Image
This is a raw, or unprocessed, image taken by the Phoenix lander on Mars, May 25, 2008. This is a screen grab taken from NASA TV.

Source: NASA - Phoenix

thank god it landed fine and everything seems ok, just been looking at the pictures on the NASA website they look great, especially the coloured ones, but how long will it be before its starts to dig/work, will it be hours or days?

and why will the mission last just 3 months?

The vehicle has landed in the Martian Arctic circle. Like Earth's Arctic circle once winter comes the area will have extended periods where the sun does not rise. As Phoenix is solar powered it will be powerless during the long Martian winter, meaning it will almost certainly freeze to death. It will also become encased in ice (probably carbon dioxide ice). NASA will try to bring Phoenix back to life after the winter has ended but they do not expect it to survive or to receive a signal from it.

NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Reports Good Health After Mars Landing

PASADENA, Calif. -- A NASA spacecraft today sent pictures showing itself in good condition after making the first successful landing in a polar region of Mars.

The images from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander also provided a glimpse of the flat valley floor expected to have water-rich permafrost within reach of the lander's robotic arm. The landing ends a 422-million-mile journey from Earth and begins a three-month mission that will use instruments to taste and sniff the northern polar site's soil and ice.


This is a false-color image taken by the Phoenix
spacecraft on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
Larger view

"We see the lack of rocks that we expected, we see the polygons that we saw from space, we don't see ice on the surface, but we think we will see it beneath the surface. It looks great to me," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for the Phoenix mission.

Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. In the intervening time, those signals crossed the distance from Mars to Earth at the speed of light. The confirmation ignited cheers by mission team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; and the University of Arizona.

As planned, Phoenix stopped transmitting one minute after landing and focused its limited battery power on opening its solar arrays, and other critical activities. About two hours after touchdown, it sent more good news. The first pictures confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, and masts for the stereo camera and weather station had swung into vertical position.


Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein and
Principal Investigator Peter Smith await data in
JPL's mission control during the Phoenix landing
on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech
Larger view

Larger view "Seeing these images after a successful landing reaffirmed the thorough work over the past five years by a great team," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of JPL. A key milestone still ahead is the first use of the lander's 7.7-foot-long robotic arm, not planned before Tuesday.

"Only five of our planet's 11 previous attempts to land on the Red Planet have succeeded. In exploring the universe, we accept some risk in exchange for the potential of great scientific rewards," said Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Phoenix carries science instruments to assess whether ice just below the surface ever thaws and whether some chemical ingredients of life are preserved in the icy soil. These are key questions in evaluating whether the environment has ever been favorable for microbial life. Phoenix will also study other aspects of the soil and atmosphere with instrument capabilities never before used on Mars. Canada supplied the lander's weather station.

Transmissions from Phoenix have reported results after a check of several components and systems on the spacecraft. "Phoenix is an amazing machine, and it was built and flown by an amazing team. Through the entire entry, descent and landing phase, it performed flawlessly," said Ed Sedivy, Phoenix program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The spacecraft stayed in contact with Earth during that critical period, and we received a lot of data about its health and performance. I'm happy to report it's in great shape."

Phoenix uses hardware from a spacecraft built for a 2001 launch that was canceled in response to the loss of a similar Mars spacecraft during a 1999 landing attempt. Researchers who proposed the Phoenix mission in 2002 saw the unused spacecraft as a resource for pursuing a new science opportunity. A few months earlier, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that plentiful water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of competitively selected missions.

The signal confirming that Phoenix had survived touchdown and the transmission of the first pictures were relayed via Mars Odyssey and received on Earth at the Goldstone, Calif., antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more about Phoenix, visit http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix.

Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Sara Hammond 520-626-1974
University of Arizona, Tucson
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

2008-82

Source: NASA - Phoenix - News

The Ground Beneath Phoenix's Feet

05.25.08

This view of a portion of the spacecraft deck and one of the footpads of NASA's three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander shows a solid surface at the spacecraft's landing site. As the legs touched down on the surface of Mars, they kicked up some loose material on top of the footpad, but overall, the surface is unperturbed.

Each footpad is about the size of a large dinner plate, measuring 11.5 inches from rim to rim. The base of the footpad is shaped like the bottom of a shallow bowl to provide stability.

This image was taken by the Phoenix spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager shortly after landing on Mars.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

On Solid Ground

05.25.08

This view of one of the footpads of NASA's three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander shows a solid surface at the spacecraft's landing site. As the legs touched down on the surface of Mars, they kicked up some loose material on top of the footpad, but overall, the surface is unperturbed.

Each footpad is about the size of a large dinner plate, measuring 11.5 inches from rim to rim. The base of the footpad is shaped like the bottom of a shallow bowl to provide stability.

This image was taken by the spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager shortly after landing, at 17:07 local time on Mars.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Arctic Landscape Within Reach

05.25.08

This image, one of the first captured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows flat ground strewn with tiny pebbles and marked by small-scale polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice.

Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.

This image was acquired at the Phoenix landing site by the Surface Stereo Imager on day 1 of the mission on the surface of Mars, or Sol 0, after the May 25, 2008, landing.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

› Full Resolution

Source: NASA - Phoenix - Images

Polygon on Mars

05.25.08

This image shows a small-scale polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. This pattern is similar in appearance to polygonal structures in icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth.

Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.

This image was acquired by the Surface Stereo Imager shortly after landing. On the Phoenix mission calendar, landing day is known as Sol 0, the first Martian day of the mission.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona