PHOENIX LANDS ON MARS
THE PHOENIX MARS LANDER, shown here in an artist's rendition, descended onto the surface of Mars in May 2008. Once landed, the spacecraft extended a mechanical arm connected to a rasp, which scrapes shavings from the hard-frozen surface of the red planet. By the end of June, the first samples of Martian soil had been analyzed. Results revealed similarities with the surface soils of the upper dry valleys in Antarctica, suggesting that the planet may once have contained water as we know it on earth.
"Phoenix is now on the surface of Mars, much to the joy of everyone here in Mission Control," wrote NASA blogger Brent Shockley "As icing May 25, 2008. on the cake," he said, "we 've landed nearly perfectly level." After nearly ten months of travel, the exploratory spacecraft landed on the planet's north pole, a destination determined by NASA's overall strategy to "follow the water" on Mars. The mission allow scientists to study materials dug fro regions of high ice content on the planet's surface. Tow further objectives are to study the history of water in the Martian arctic plain and to search for evidence of a habitable zone. Phoenix will also aid in NASA's long-term goals: determining whether any form of life has arisen on Mars, characterizing Mars's Mars climate and geology, and preparing for human exploration.
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