New images from Mars Phoenix Lander…
Here are the very first images from Mars Phoenix Lander. In the upper left image the solar panel array that provides power to the lander can be seen to have deployed and the lander now has power. The image to the right depicts one of the lander’s three leg pads.
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The first view of the Martian landscape in the area around the lander. The region of Mars chosen for the lander’s mission is above Mars’ arctic circle and there is believed to be water under Phoenix’s foot pad. A shovel on the lander will reach out and scoop up some of the soil of the Martian tundra and analyze it, looking for signs of life and to measure it’s composition.
We will feature additional images from Mars as they become available from JPL/NASA.
“Touchdown signal detected…”
And with those words, NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander became the first soft touchdown on legs of a space craft on another planet in more than 30 years. Phoenix landed flawlessly in the northern polar region of Mars at 6:53 PM U.S. Central Time. Congratulations to the men and women of JPL, NASA, and the University of Arizona! Once Phoenix has unfurled it’s solar panel array and powers up it’s onboard cameras and telemetry systems, it will begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander’s robotic arm.
At 6:53:44 p.m. Central Time radio signals were detected by three orbiters and by the Deep Space Network 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.
Introducing the NEW CosmicNeon.com!
Though this website has been around in one form or another for years, it’s potential has yet to be realised. So, on this evening while monitoring the landing on the planet Mars by NASA’s Phoenix Lander spacecraft, CosmicNeon.com is reborn with a new purpose and a new mission to provide news and commentary on the latest in space, astronomy, and space exploration.
With that, onward.