Phoenix Mars Lander.

[fractionofadot]

<p>Ok, it's 6am... I haven't slept at all, but I'm really not all that tired.</p><p>The events of the last few hours have been invigorating.</p><p>Having said that, I should go make an attempt at getting at least an hour or twos shut eye.</p><p>Goodnight/morning all, it was nice to be able to share this occasion with people who are just as inspired by space exploration.</p><p>Once again, congratulations NASA, JPL, The University of Arizona, and every single organisation and individual who played a role in making this mission happen and succeed. You did a brilliant job and you should be extremely proud. &nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p>Color images from the briefing.&nbsp; They are indeed false color, but still cool.</p><p><br /> <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/7/0/975b7e7d-dcee-482a-80aa-ef71fe89f98b.Medium.jpg" alt="" /></p><p><br /><br /> <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/10/2/0a8ccad6-06ef-47c3-a239-26ed3c98d68e.Medium.jpg" alt="" /></p><p><br />I couldn't dump the higher resolution images on here, so here's the link:</p><p>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/index.html</p><p>I really recommend the full resolution option they give you under the image... spectacular.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

<p>Don't you just love them?&nbsp; I was hoping for frost or snow patches, but I can't have everything.</p><p>Not much sign of erosion (no pavements, possible ventefacts) or impact (no craters), but a fairly active surface resulting in formation of polygons, stone sorting.&nbsp; Certailny looks like a permafrost terrain with a thin active layer.&nbsp; The big question (for me at any rate)&nbsp;is - is the ice still there?</p><p>Jon</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[halman]

<p>Three cheers for the Phoenix team, from the builders to the controllers!&nbsp; Finally, an powered landing on Mars that went right!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Having to use the Mars Recon craft for a relay points out the next area that should be addressed in our exploration of the Red Planet, and that is a system of Tracking, Data, and Relay Satellites that pass data to and from a master control satellite that communicates with Earth from a solar orbit a few degrees from Mars.&nbsp; Uniterrupted high speed data communications is going to become critical in the robotic exploration of this planet, which we should persue ambitiously, in my opinion.</p><p>&nbsp;Mars is the perfect testing ground for remote sensing, aritficial intelligence, imaging, and a myriad of other technologies that are going to be essential in our exploration of the Solar System.&nbsp; We can justify considerable expense in developing those technolgies in exploring Mars, because it is very likely that humans will go there eventually.&nbsp; Semi-autonomous rovers, high-resolution imaging of soil, geologic formations, clouds, and who knows what else, constant weather data, drilling and coring robots, the list is practically endless of possiblities for applying our knowledge of robotics and computers to learning about this completely different place.</p><p>Having a data network capable of handling real-time situations locally under a master computer's guidance, with links to Earth working at minimum turnaround time can make a difference between successfully negotiating a dificult patch and losing a multi-million dollar probe that took six months to reach Mars.&nbsp; Instead of having high levels of computing power in each probe, the smarts can be in a spacecraft off-planet, and networked to the individual probes.&nbsp; High bandwidth available at all times would make this possible, which means at least three satellites in geosynchronus orbit. &nbsp;</p><p>When humans begin the exploration of this new world, that same network would be available for communications with a mother ship or Earth, as well as relaying weather data.&nbsp; By using a large rocket, and Hohmann orbits, a trio of TDRS satellites could be sent to Mars and deployed in a single launch.&nbsp; Once those are in place, a second launch would send the master computer spacecraft.&nbsp; By equipping each TDRS satellite with elementary sensors, a constant monitoring of surface conditions all over the planet would be possible.&nbsp; We should also design all space-based components so that robotic upgrades and repairs are possible, so that this network can be maintained. </p><p>If we figure that this network will have a lifespan of a minimum of 50 years, we allow for it to be used by several generations of probes, as well as the first manned missions.&nbsp; It would also allow the deployment of considerably more sophisicated probes than we are currrently sending, because so much processor power would be available without having to build it into the probes.&nbsp; The master controller should also be capable of being programmed for mission goals for several different probes, and providing local control for them, from hazard avoidance to route selection on a moment by moment basis, or relaying instructions from Earth when critical situations arise.</p><p>The robotic exploration of Mars is a perfect counterpoint to the manned exploration and exploitation of the Moon, I believe, because it would keep the concept of going to Mars alive while we perfect the technologies needed to make the trip survivalable.&nbsp; And I believe that we should learn a great deal more about this place before we send people there, because surprises can be very difficult to deal with at the ond of o six-month long supply line.&nbsp; We should have detailed weather data for the entire planet, detailed surface images, and extensive geological surveys in hand before we undertake the expense and danger of landing humans on Mars.&nbsp; The presence of an atmosphere makes exploration so much more unpredictable that we need to understand the Martian environment thoroughly. </p><p>Space exploration will always be spearheaded by robotic probes, I blieve, and Mars offers us a laboratory to perfect many of those technologies.&nbsp; The money that we spend learning these things will generate benefits for generations, because they will be important in every expansion of the human sphere of activities.&nbsp; Space is probably never to going to be heavily populated in the forseeable future, but it must be an essential part of our future if we are to have much of a future.&nbsp; Learing to see accurately, and to manipulate effectively over huge distances is integral to our utilization of the resources of the Solar System, and those resources are what stand between us and destroying our home trying to enjoy a high standard of living. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>

 

[Smersh]

<p>I went to bed just after the safe touchdown was confirmed and just now came back to this thread. I'm surprised at how few posts it has had since the landing [only about 140 over 7 more pages.] </p><p><strong>Here's</strong> the BBC report, with pictures, maps and diagrams.</p><p>More pictures <strong>here.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /> </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <h1 style="margin:0pt;font-size:12px">----------------------------------------------------- </h1><p><font color="#800000"><em>Lady Nancy Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea."<br />Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."</em></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Website / forums </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I went to bed just after the safe touchdown was confirmed and just now came back to this thread. I'm surprised at how few posts it has had since the landing [only about 140 over 7 more pages.] Here's the BBC report, with pictures, maps and diagrams.More pictures here.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by Smersh</DIV></p><p>I felt the need to watch 'Contact' for the 359th time.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><font color="#ff0000">Don't you just love them?&nbsp; I was hoping for frost or snow patches, but I can't have everything.Not much sign of erosion (no pavements, possible ventefacts) or impact (no craters), but a fairly active surface resulting in formation of polygons, stone sorting.&nbsp; Certailny looks like a permafrost terrain with a thin active layer.&nbsp; The big question (for me at any rate)&nbsp;is - is the ice still there?Jon <br />Posted by jonclarke</font></DIV></p><p><strong><font size="2">Hi Jon, wondered how long it would be before you posted.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Great isn't it. I did not get much sleep this morning (just chiming in quickly before I go back to bed). The time leading up to EDL & also first images made me sick literally.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">I expect that you were overjoyed.&nbsp;</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">I am so thrilled at this successful landing, the first ever on the Martian arctic plains in Vastillas Borealis.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">To me stone sorting looks active, note how the stones are definately mostly arranged on the polygonal borders, as expected for a still active tundra.</font></strong></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Also SQUARE Polygons, due to the cryonic cold in this area during Winter & Spring, approx -135 C, causing subsurface ice to form into cubes rather than the familiar hexagon polygons, we have on the cold spots on Earth. Compared to this location in Winter, Antarctica is positively tropical.&nbsp; <br /></strong></font></p><p><strong><font size="2">I hope we get to see some images soon of the other directions & the first 360 degree panorama. Only then will the full impact of the visual aspect of the landing site become apparent & then we can really speculate.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Later on when I'm more with it, I will have a go at trying to analyze the excellent images we already have.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">I am so thrilled now & feeling so much better.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Andrew Brown.</font></strong></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I went to bed just after the safe touchdown was confirmed and just now came back to this thread. I'm surprised at how few posts it has had since the landing [only about 140 over 7 more pages.] Here's the BBC report, with pictures, maps and diagrams.More pictures here.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by Smersh</DIV></p><p>Try this link for images... high res ones you can zoom in and out on.</p><p>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/index.html</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi Jon, wondered how long it would be before you posted.Great isn't it....&nbsp;Posted by 3488</DIV></p><p>Hi Andrew</p><p>I was at the Tidbinbilla DSN station watching it on their own secure land line.&nbsp; It was great!&nbsp; Tremendous atmosphere too seeing it on the big screen with 50 other people.&nbsp; I took the day off work to do it.&nbsp; It's my third&nbsp;landing.&nbsp; Two years to the next one!</p><p>Jon&nbsp;<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><font color="#ff0000">Try this link for images... high res ones you can zoom in and out on.http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/index.html <br />Posted by derekmcd</font></DIV></p><p><strong><font size="2">Good Morning Derek.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Absolutely great isn't it? It is still sinking in. Hopefully we get to see some more later in other directions & the panorama that one guy&nbsp;hinted at&nbsp;last night on NASA TV.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">I'm going back to bed now, but will be back later.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Andrew Brown.</font></strong></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><font color="#ff0000">Hi AndrewI was at the Tidbinbilla DSN station watching it on their own secure land line.&nbsp; It was great!&nbsp; Tremendous atmosphere too seeing it on the big screen with 50 other people.&nbsp; I took the day off work to do it.&nbsp; It's my third&nbsp;landing.&nbsp; Two years to the next one!Jon&nbsp; <br />Posted by jonclarke</font></DIV></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Cheers Jon.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>I would imagine that you were in the best place in Australia for this event. </strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>It is the Spring Bank Holiday here today, so I'm off work anyway, but I was going to take today off work if not anyway </strong></font><font size="2"><strong><font color="#000000">(of course it is Late Autumn in Australia now).<br /><br />Did Tidbinbilla take part in receiving Odyssey on behalf of Phoenix during last nights fantastic events?</font><font color="#ff0000">&nbsp;</font></strong></font></p><p><font size="2" color="#000000"><strong>I will be back later, must get some more sleep.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2" color="#000000"><strong>Andrew Brown.</strong></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[Smersh]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Try this link for images... high res ones you can zoom in and out on.http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/index.html <br /> Posted by derekmcd</DIV></p><p>Thanks a lot for that link Derek!</p><p>Many more images still to follow, hopefully. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <h1 style="margin:0pt;font-size:12px">----------------------------------------------------- </h1><p><font color="#800000"><em>Lady Nancy Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea."<br />Churchill: "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."</em></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Website / forums </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><strong><font size="2">Hi Jon, just before I go back to bed, one question for now as you are in a better mental state then I am.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">What do you make of the small rocks themselves, not their positioning, but the rocks themselves? </font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">I am sure one fairly close in looked basaltic, though I am not 100 % sure, till I have a proper look when I'm less tired.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font size="2">Andrew Brown.</font></strong></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Thanks a lot for that link Derek!Many more images still to follow, hopefully. <br /> Posted by Smersh</DIV></p><p>Most definitely will be more.&nbsp; They should have a full color panoramic within 48 hours or so.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[halman]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I went to bed just after the safe touchdown was confirmed and just now came back to this thread. I'm surprised at how few posts it has had since the landing [only about 140 over 7 more pages.] Here's the BBC report, with pictures, maps and diagrams.More pictures here.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by Smersh</DIV></p><p>Well, it is kind of late at night for a lot of people.&nbsp; And this board ain't what it used to be.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>

 

[Philotas]

<p>Looking at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10687, they do indeed appear to have missed the desired landing spot by a bit.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi Jon, just before I go back to bed, one question for now as you are in a better mental state then I am.What do you make of the small rocks themselves, not their positioning, but the rocks themselves? I am sure one fairly close in looked basaltic, though I am not 100 % sure, till I have a proper look when I'm less tired.Andrew Brown. <br />Posted by 3488</DIV></p><p>They certain look dark, so they could be basaltic.&nbsp; But we just don't know.&nbsp; The point is with these rocks is that they are not in place.&nbsp; They may be ejecta from the north weast crater, but almost certainly the permafrost action has resulted in plucking them from the bedrock and bringing them to the surface.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Jon<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Looking at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10687, they do indeed appear to have missed the desired landing spot by a bit. <br /> Posted by Philotas</DIV></p><p>In the press briefing, they said the parachute deployed 6.5 seconds late, but their first impression is they couldn't have found a better spot despite being off a bit.</p><p>A reporter posed the question (paraphrasing), "what's the most surprising thing you see in the images of the landing area."&nbsp; The response was (again, paraphrasing), "The most surprising thing is that it is <strong><em>exactly</em></strong> what we were looking for."&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[thebigcat]

<p>Great work by the whole mission team, by the way.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Anyway, I had complete forgotten that Phoenix was due to land Sunday until I started reading through my local paper after watching the Indy 500. Shows you where my priorities are, right. Well, to show where the Seattle Times has it's&nbsp; priorities, coverage of Phoenix was all the way back on page A6 with the headline:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>NASA keeping fingers crossed on Mars mission</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>And the sub-header:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>LANDING IS TODAY | The Odds that the $457 million lander will make it to the rocky surface without crashing aren't good.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Don't you just have to love the "doom and gloom" crowd?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So now I'm just gonna sit back and wait for all you hard science types to analyze the data from Phoenix. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[qzzq]

Congratulations to everyone involved! And thanks for the wonderful updates guys! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p>***</p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p>Anyone care to guess what the APOD is today?</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[Hiro2008]

<p>I saw image from Phoenix lander</p><p>http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=080525-phoenix-terrain-02.jpg&cap=The+Surface+Stereo+Imager+Right+on+NASA%27s+Phoenix+Mars+Lander+acquired+this+image+pf+surrounding+terrain+at+17%3A12%3A26+local+solar+time+at+the+Phoenix+site+on+the+mission%27s+Martian+day%2C+or+Sol%2C+0%2C+after+a+May+25%2C+2008+landing.+Credit%3A+NASA%2FJPL%2FUA.</p><p>amazing! It seem like riverbed! </p><p>Was there water , wasn't there!?</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Philotas]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I saw image from Phoenix landerhttp://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=080525-phoenix-terrain-02.jpg&cap=The+Surface+Stereo+Imager+Right+on+NASA%27s+Phoenix+Mars+Lander+acquired+this+image+pf+surrounding+terrain+at+17%3A12%3A26+local+solar+time+at+the+Phoenix+site+on+the+mission%27s+Martian+day%2C+or+Sol%2C+0%2C+after+a+May+25%2C+2008+landing.+Credit%3A+NASA%2FJPL%2FUA.amazing! It seem like riverbed! Was there water , wasn't there!? <br />Posted by Hiro2008</DIV></p><p>Most likely a result of continuous freezing and thawing; part of the polygonal structure that you'll see mentioned frequently.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I saw image from Phoenix amazing! It seem like riverbed! Was there water , wasn't there!? <br /> Posted by Hiro2008</DIV></p><p>Many tremendous images here:</p><p>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/index.html</p><p>I doubt that is a riverbed.&nbsp; Closest thing you could compare it to is a tundra here on earth.&nbsp; It is presumed there is ice under that soil... and on Mars, that is a gold mine.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[Philotas]

BTW....I saw it mentioned earlier in this thread that the surface was hard; but if you take a look at this image for instance, you'll see that apparently some rocks were kicked up from their resting positions by the thrust from the rocket engines. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>