Astronomy Journal Entry

Phoenix Makes Perfect Landing on Mars (May 26, 2008)

NASA's Phoenix spacecraft made a perfect landing on Mars over the weekend. Mission controllers cheered wildly after it touched down safely near the Martian north pole. Phoenix reached its target after a ten month journey.

The spacecraft got its last instructions around noon Eastern time on Sunday. It then stayed on autopilot all the way to the surface. The spacecraft accelerated from 6,300 mph to 12,700 mph from the pull of Mar's gravity then slowed by 90 percent from friction in the atmosphere. It slowed even more after its parachute opened. Twelve thruster rockets slowed the last part of its descent to the surface.

After the safe landing, NASA scientists could finally exhale. They were nervous Phoenix would suffer the same fate as Mars Polar Lander, a spacecraft with a similar design that crash-landed on Mars in 1999.

The spacecraft's mission is to study water ice near the pole. It hopes to learn if the region could have once been suitable habitat to support life. The probe is well-equipped for the job. It has a seven-foot robotic arm that will dig below the surface. It also has small ovens to warm the frigid Martian soil and a huge package of instruments and microscopes to analyze samples it collects.

The average temperature at the north pole is more than 115 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, so any water on the pole is frozen solid. But millions of years ago, the Martian climate may have been warm enough for liquid water. This makes it possible chemical reactions could have created simple living organisms. Scientists hope Phoenix will find some evidence to support this idea.