Phoenix Landing on Mars

[spacecat27]

Touchdown due this Sunday 25 May  4:54 PDT/7:54 EDT   
Landing timeline http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/080521edl.html

[Ottawan]

I NASA TV covering this?

I read in todays paper that this mission is not using the highly successful landing bag approach as the vehicle is too large. Just braking rockets.

This one is going to be a nail biter for sure.

I wish them luck.

[spacecat27]

PBS, at least down in this corner of the US, ran a good special on the mission last night.  Looks like there are parachutes- well, more like drogue chutes- to slow it down a bit until the landing radar detects the surface and fires/controls the rockets.  Sure hope it works. 

I'd expect NASA TV to carry it, since JPL is in charge of the landing- and JPL may have a webcast from their site.  Discussion on nasaspaceflight.com indicates they'll have a live feed as well.

[SCEtoAUX]

If you have cable, the Science Channel is running live coverage from 7-9PM eastern.

[LunarOrbit]

Touchdown! Phoenix is still transmitting a signal so the landing is good. It still has a few activities to perform (like opening it's solar panels) that must succeed, but everything looks good.

[Satanic Mechanic]

Arrays deployed, batteries at 90% and great pictures.

[Ottawan]

Outstanding!!

[surlalune]

Oh no, I missed the landing!! But anyway, that sounds pretty good...

[spacecat27]

That sure was impressive!
Amazing too, when you think about (for those of us old enough) Viking landings in the '70's when we had to wait at least 24 hours for a few grainy pics to show up in the newspapers.... and here we were watching this almost as it happened.

Guess y'all saw that one photo with something brightly reflecting light in the distance.... of course it was a chunk of discarded heat shield from the lander.... but I was really hoping it was Rod Serling holding up one of his "signposts!"     Maybe, "No Martians permitted beyond this line:  Earthlings operating cameras ahead"

Even though this is a staionary probe, it's a new area of the planet and it'll be interesting to see it work and watch the data roll in through the coming weeks.

[Satanic Mechanic]

Saw the picture that the MRO took of the parachute and heat shield during descent, pretty cool.

SM

[Johno]

To all our mates at NASA and JPL:

Jolly good show, what!

[Satanic Mechanic]

Found out this morning that a local company developed and built some of the soil sensors in the Phoenix's soil scooper.  This project must of had at least a hundred sub-contractors.

SM

[Ottawan]

Bottom line is the landing was a great success! And even though Phoenix is not a "rover" I am still looking forward to the photographs and the scientific results. After all, Spirit and Opportunity have been active for what, four tears now? Who says Phoenix can't be as prolific!!!

[LunarOrbit]

Apparently Phoenix is expected to be buried under about a meter of frozen carbon dioxide (or monoxide... I can never keep that straight) when the Martian winter arrives, so it's unlikely to survive.

[surlalune]

Ack! That's disappointing!