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Spacecraft reveals look at Mars' polar region

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-26 23:06

President of the Canadian Space Agency Guy Bujold, Phoenix Mars Lander principal investigator, Peter Smith (L) of the University of Arizona and JPL project manager for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Barry Goldstein (R) pose with a model of the Phoenix Mars Lander after a media briefing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, after the spacecraft landed safely on Mars near its north pole, May 25, 2008. [Agencies]

Phoenix's descent was nearly flawless. The only unexpected turn occurred when it opened its parachute seven seconds later than planned, causing the spacecraft to settle slightly downrange from the bull's-eye target, said Ed Sedivy, program manager at Lockheed Martin Corp., which built the spacecraft.

Phoenix planted its three legs in a broad, shallow valley littered with pebble-size rocks that should not pose any hazard to the spacecraft, project managers said.

"I know it looks a little like a parking lot, but that's a safe place to land. There's not any big rocks," Smith said.

During its prime mission, Phoenix will dig through layers of soil to reach the ice, believed to be buried inches to a foot deep. It will study whether the ice melted during a time in Mars' recent past and will analyze soil samples for traces of organic compounds, which would be a possible indicator of conditions favorable for primitive life. Phoenix is not equipped to detect past or present alien life.

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