“Phoenix” landed successfully on red-planet mars to discover life

The first spacecraft designed to taste the water of an alien planet landed safely on Mars’ northern pole Sunday afternoon, beginning a three-month mission to determine whether the Red Planet ever did, or still might, support rudimentary forms of life.

The Phoenix spacecraft parachuted to the planet’s surface at 4:53 p.m. PDT, successfully ending a 422 million-mile journey through space.

Cheers and applause echoed through the halls of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., which is managing the mission. “Touchdown signal detected,” said Richard Kornfeld, a communications specialist. “Welcome to the northern plains of Mars.” Scientists and technicians fell into each other’s arms with elation and relief.

About two hours after touchdown, the spacecraft beamed to Earth about four dozen images of its landing site.

The landing was an elegant feat of engineering and artistry, and was the first successful soft landing on the Red Planet — using a parachute and thrusters rather than protective air bags — since the twin Viking missions in 1976. In all, six of 11 similar attempts by the U.S., Russia and England ended in failure, so the Phoenix team awaited with enormous apprehension the outcome of the spacecraft’s approach and landing.

Phoenix plunged into the thin Martian atmosphere traveling at more than 12,000 mph. Over the next seven minutes, friction — which raised the temperature on the heat shield to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit — slowed it enough to deploy the parachute.

About half a mile from the surface, and with only seconds remaining before touching down, 12 small rocket thrusters fired to slow the lander’s descent speed to 5 mph. Before it landed, however, Phoenix had to orient itself toward the sun to ensure its solar panels could pick up enough light to generate the power it will need on the surface.

“We have the best team in the world,” said an exultant Barry Goldstein, the project manager, who has devoted the past five years of his life to this mission.

Early indications showed the spacecraft appeared to be in fine health, although that will have to be confirmed. Now the hard work begins. After the lander deploys the solar arrays that will supply power for the three-month mission, Phoenix will begin assessing its environment, from temperature and humidity to wind conditions.Then, it will deploy its 7.7-foot-long robotic arm, which will be used to dig into the soil. Lying just beneath the lander is an ice layer Phoenix will probe, searching for evidence of organic molecules that could provide a habitat for life.

The 7-foot-tall, 904-pound Phoenix lander touched down after a 296-day trek across space. The name Phoenix, referencing the mythical bird rising from its own ashes, was derived from the 1999 Mars Polar Lander, which was lost as it descended to the surface.

Phoenix’s landing site was chosen with safety in mind. Pictures taken from space showed a mostly featureless plain in the northern reaches of an area called Vastitis Borealis. Phoenix’s science instruments will look for molecules such as carbon and hydrogen, the basic building blocks of life as we know it on Earth. The craft will check for other ingredients of life. It will examine the acidity of the soil at different layers and will look for sulfates, which could be an energy source for microbes.

Scientists speculate that if some of the ice in the soil melts during warm periods, some form of microbial life could persist, potentially for millions of years.

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