Tag Archives: Phoenix

The robot made a gentle, five mph landing on Mars about 6:53 p.m. CDT and all looks good:

"…we’ve found that the lander is tilted only one quarter of a degree, which means we’ve landed nearly perfectly level. The next step for Phoenix is surface initialization during which the solar arrays, Surface Stereo Imager (SSI), Biobarrier (which has been protecting the robotic arm from contamination since it was sterilized on Earth) and meteorological mast will deploy."

Stay with NASA’s Phoenix blog for updates, and reports as the robot gets to work analyzing its site on the Arctic Plain of the Red Planet.

Just five days from now, the Phoenix will land on Mars’ icy northern plains. NASA has a new blog up in prep for the event, word of which could come as soon as 6:53 p.m. Sunday CDT. Should be exciting. Worth remembering: fewer than half the international attempts to land on Mars have been successful. Phoenix could crash and not be heard from again–nor arise from the ashes.