Phoenix Mars Lander

Phoenix Mars Lander

Mars is a cold desert planet with no liquid water on its surface. But in the Martian arctic, water ice lurks just below ground level. Discoveries made by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002 show large amounts of subsurface water ice in the northern arctic plain. The Phoenix lander targets this circumpolar region using a robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to the water ice below and ultimately, to bring both soil and water ice to the lander platform for sophisticated scientific analysis.

(This artist's animation shows NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander taking a picture of its solar panel with its Surface Stereo Imager. The photographed area is highlighted. )

Objectives:

--Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars

--Characterize the Climate of Mars

--Characterize the Geology of Mars

--Prepare for Human Exploration

Study the History of Water in All its Phases

Currently, water on Mars' surface and atmosphere exists in two states: gas and solid. At the poles, the interaction between the solid water ice at and just below the surface and the gaseous water vapor in the atmosphere is believed to be critical to the weather and climate of Mars. Phoenix will be the first mission to collect meteorological data in the Martian arctic needed by scientists to accurately model Mars' past climate and predict future weather processes.

Liquid water does not currently exist on the surface of Mars, but evidence from Mars Global Surveyor, Odyssey and Exploration Rover missions suggest that water once flowed in canyons and persisted in shallow lakes billions of years ago. However, Phoenix will probe the history of liquid water that may have existed in the arctic as recently as 100,000 years ago. Scientists will better understand the history of the Martian arctic after analyzing the chemistry and mineralogy of the soil and ice using robust instruments.

Latest Images by NASA

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander did a small amount of excavation as it touched down on pebbly north polar terrain on the Red Planet, as shown in this close-up view of one of the lander's three footpads.

This image shows a polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth.

This image, one of the first captured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice.

Historical Log!


Launch Date-Name-Country-Result-Reason
1960-Korabl 4-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Didn't reach Earth orbit

1960-Korabl 5-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Didn't reach Earth orbit

1962-Korabl 11-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart

1962-Mars 1-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Radio Failed

1962-Korabl 13-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart

1964-Mariner 3-US (flyby)-Failure-Shroud failed to jettison

1964-Mariner 4-US (flyby)-Success-Returned 21 images

1964-Zond 2-USSR (flyby)-Failure-Radio failed

1969-Mars 1969A-USSR-Failure-Launch vehicle failure

1969-Mars 1969B-USSR-Failure-Launch vehicle failure

1969-Mariner 6-US (flyby)-Success-Returned 75 images

1969-Mariner 7-US (flyby)-Success-Returned 126 images

1971-Mariner 8-US-Failure-Launch failure

1971-Kosmos 419-USSR-Failure-Achieved Earth orbit only

1971-Mars 2 Orbiter/Lander-USSR-Failure-Orbiter arrived, but no useful data and Lander destroyed

1971-Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander-USSR-Success-Orbiter obtained approximately 8 months of data and lander landed safely, but only 20 seconds of data

1971-Mariner 9-US-Success-Returned 7,329 images

1973-Mars 4-USSR-Failure-Flew past Mars

1973-Mars 5-USSR-Success-Returned 60 images; only lasted 9 days

1973-Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander-USSR-Success/Failure-Occultation experiment produced data and Lander failure on descent

1973-Mars 7 Lander-USSR-Failure-Missed planet; now in solar orbit.

1975-Viking 1 Orbiter/Lander-US-Success-Located landing site for Lander and first successful landing on Mars

Historical Log (Cont.)


Launch Date-Name-Country-Result-Reason
1975-Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander-US-Success-Returned 16,000 images and extensive atmospheric data and soil experiments

1988-Phobos 1 Orbiter-USSR-Failure-Lost en route to Mars

1988-Phobos 2 Orbiter/Lander-USSR-Failure-Lost near Phobos

1992-Mars Observer-US-Failure-Lost prior to Mars arrival

1996-Mars Global Surveyor-US-Success-More images than all Mars Missions

1996-Mars 96-USSR-Failure-Launch vehicle failure

1996-Mars Pathfinder-US-Success-Technology experiment lasting 5 times longer than warranty

1998-Nozomi-Japan-Failure-No orbit insertion; fuel problems

1998-Mars Climate Orbiter-US-Failure-Lost on arrival

1999-Mars Polar Lander-US-Failure-Lost on arrival

1999-Deep Space 2 Probes (2)-US-Failure-Lost on arrival (carried on Mars Polar Lander)

2001-Mars Odyssey-US-Success-High resolution images of Mars

2003-Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2 Lander-ESA-Success/Failure-Orbiter imaging Mars in detail and lander lost on arrival

2003-Mars Exploration Rover - Spirit-US-Success-Operating lifetime of more than 15 times original warranty

2003-Mars Exploration Rover - Opportunity-US-Success-Operating lifetime of more than 15 times original warranty

2005-Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter-US-Success-Returned more than 26 terabits of data (more than all other Mars missions combined)

2007-Phoenix Mars Lander-US-TBD-