NASA Phoenix has landed successfully on Mars and is transmitting photographs from the Arctic Mars surface.
The first pictures, which the lander began taking shortly after touching down near Mars’ north pole — the end of a 422 million-mile trek — showed a pattern of brown polygons as far as the camera could see.
“It’s surprisingly close to what we expected and that’s what surprises me most,” said Peter Smith, the mission’s principal investigator. “I expected a bigger surprise.”
The Sunday landing on the Red Planet’s arctic plains — which ended a 296-day journey — was right on target, a feat NASA’s Ed Weiler compared to landing a hole-in-one with a golf ball from 10,000 miles.
The landing — dubbed the “seven minutes of terror” — was a nerve-wracking experience for mission managers, who have witnessed the failure of similar missions.
Source: Mars lander sends home first photos of Red Planet
And 15 minutes after the dust settled from the lander, the spacecraft’s solar panels opened and the Phoenix camera sent back spectacular images, some in full color. They revealed the red soil that fiction writers know but show in extraordinary detail the very same polygon-shaped patterns on the surface close up that scientists had discerned from the HiRise camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter overhead.
Other images displayed the far horizon and details of small pebbles close to the lander itself. There were black-and white pictures of one of the lander’s footpads. Another revealed that the first joint of the robotic arm was intact, and that the “bioprotective” shroud that had covered it during the entire voyage had successfully been removed.
Fresh electricity quickly flowing from the fan-shaped solar panels began activating the suite of science instruments designed by the University of Arizona that will begin their jobs within another day or two.
This whole venture is so remarkably successful that Ed Weiler, NASA’s science chief, reminded visiting reporters that to land a spacecraft within 20 kilometers of its planned target after a 422 million-mile trip represents an accuracy of one part in 10 million – possibly an achievement no other spacecraft has equaled.
Source: MARS MISSION: The Search for Life Touchdown! Phoenix safe on Mars as cheers erupt In minutes, it decelerates from 12,700 mph to 5, lands smoothly
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 in 1960.
Phoenix is an apt name for the current mission, as it rose from the ashes of two previous failures.
In September 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft crashed into the Red Planet following a navigation error caused when technicians mixed up “English” (imperial) and metric units.
A few months later, another Nasa spacecraft, the Mars Polar Lander (MPL), was lost near the planet’s South Pole.
Artist’s rendering of NASA Phoenix on Mars
Phoenix uses hardware from an identical twin of MPL, the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, which was cancelled following the two consecutive failures.
The probe was launched on 4 August 2007 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Source: Historic pictures sent from Mars
See also:
- NASA Phoenix – NASA Web site (with extensive photo gallery)
- Phoenix Mars Mission – Official Web site
- Phoenix Sends First Photos From Martian Arctic Surface
Here is a short video profiling the scientists behind the NASA Phoenix and the successful landing of the NASA Phoenix on Mars, as scientists in the control room cheer.
NASA Phoenix on Mars – Mars Pictures – Photos & Video 5-25-08
