Phoenix Mars Lander.

3488 · Aug 4, 2007

Thanks brellis. I like that image. Very nice. From Spaceflightnow.com. Justin Ray. 1210 GMT (8:10 a.m. EDT) "The launch team did a spectacular job getting us on the way," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager. "Our trajectory is still being evaluated in detail; however we are well within expected limits for a successful journey to the red planet. We are all thrilled!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Also Phoenix has passed the first post launch checks. All instruments & systems appear to be fully functional & Phoenix is in excellent health. There were no post launch anomalies. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "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". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 4, 2007

It was time for a new desktop anyway <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 4, 2007

There's a short replay of the launch available here <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

dragon04 · Aug 4, 2007

Thanks for the image, brellis, and thanks for the link to the video, MW. I'm totally stoked about this mission! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!". </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 4, 2007

Coincidence? FX ran the remake of "Flight of the Phoenix" today (in fact running right now) I prefer the Jimmy Stewart original myself <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

dragon04 · Aug 4, 2007

I'll be glued to a computer or TV on May 25, 2008. We're 3 for 3 with airbag deployed landers and not so perfect with more traditional thruster equipped craft. I understand that Phoenix is just too big (or not?) to be the bouncing ball we follow and that the terrain is probably too rough as well, so it will be a nail biter. I know that every mission is a white knuckle ride for the Mission Teams, but the uneducated and less than avid guy on the street anticipates a money shot every time we shoot a probe at another planet. For me, space exploration is agonizingly "carrot and stick" a lot of the time. It's not about the money, either. It's about all the hard work, engineering, and science that goes into a mission and the tantalizing hope that we're gonna find something really cool only to have a mission fail. So close, and yet so far away. A euphemism that hits like a jackhammer when things don't go successfully. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!". </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 4, 2007

FWIW, here's a global image of the landing location <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

moonmadness · Aug 4, 2007

Another great launch of a Delta. Was a bit surprised it got a lot of media coverage here in Arizona. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm not a rocket scientist, but I do play one on the TV in my mind. </div>

lampblack · Aug 4, 2007

Route of Mars Phoenix Lander. Sort of cool how the early part of the spacecraft's trajectory is actually inside the earth's orbit. Ya learn something new every day. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Just tell the truth and let the chips fall... </div>

h2ouniverse · Aug 4, 2007

Fantastic launch! MW, the landing site does not seem to be at the lowest possible altitude. Do you know why?

MeteorWayne · Aug 4, 2007

Replay of post launch news conference on NASA TV now <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

gunsandrockets · Aug 4, 2007

<Replay of post launch news conference on NASA TV now > Urrrgghh!! I stayed up last night to watch the launch on TV, but not one single peep! Nothing! I had to peek over at nasaspaceflight.com to even find out the launch was successful. You would think something like a rocket launch would be exciting enough for at least a few seconds of live coverage, to say nothing of the fact it's launching a probe designed to land on the surface of Mars. But all the TV news channels on my basic cable subscription couldn't be bothered. There was nothing on MSNBC, CNN, Foxnews, ABC, CBS or NBC, nothing at all. It really hit home for me just how uninterested the media remains concerning spaceflight.

thereiwas · Aug 4, 2007

All of Vastitas Borealis is waybelow the average elevation on the surface. They wanted a place that had ice near the surface, but not right on top. Their surveys identified this latitude as the best place to look. Why would they want the lowest possible spot?

3488 · Aug 4, 2007

Hi lampblack. Very true. I noticed that too, very strange for a Mars bound craft. I guess it is that Phoenix is able to 'take a short cut' & not lose speed during the intial catch up with Mars. Obviously Phoenix will slow when the distance from the Sun increases after these first 60 days. I think it is a time saving measure. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "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". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Aug 4, 2007

Hi gunsandrockets. At least here in Britain, the BBC showed the launch live on BBC News 24. I could not get onto NASA TV because that crashed my computer (again). So I had BBC News 24 on as well as SDC & Spaceflightnow.com running. I was very impressed by the coverage (camera work was superb), it was really very good. BBC News 24 had been covering the resurgence of Foot & Mouth disease, at a farm in Surrey (rightly so), but kept repeating what they had already said many times & I thought 'they are not going to show the launch, oh crap, I am going to miss it'. NASA TV was not accessible to me, then the BBC News 24 announced, we are leaving this story & going live to Cape Canaveral in Florida to cover the launch of NASA's next mission to Mars. Not only did they show the launch in great detail, they also talked to various people at the Cape. It was really very good, no excellent coverage indeed. 10 out of 10 to the BBC. So why did the American networks ignore this amazing event?? Any launch is worth watching, but Phoenix is not just 'any old launch'. A very special & important mission to Mars. So I agree with your disgust with the lack of coverage by MSNBC, CNN, Foxnews, ABC, CBS or NBC. You are correct. It is just not good enough. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "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". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

bobblebob · Aug 4, 2007

We all know its not just any old launch, but unfortunately the media do. Launches are coming thick and fast now - almost 1 every other month - and the media dont seem interested anymore I watched the launch on a laptop in my mates car driving down the motorway <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />

3488 · Aug 4, 2007

From Spaceflightnow.com. Justin Ray. 1505 GMT (11:05 a.m. EDT) As of 11 a.m., the Phoenix spacecraft is 365,000 miles away from Earth and speeding along at 12,300 mph relative to Earth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix is now definately beyond Lunar orbit & is now outside the Earth / Moon system. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "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". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

mithridates · Aug 4, 2007

There's some coverage here for anyone interested: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070804/mars_blast_070804/20070804?hub=TopStories It's a bit silly that the Canadian media is a bit more interested in this mission largely because there's some Canadian technology flying on Phoenix, but that's as good a reason as any I suppose. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ----- http://mithridates.blogspot.com </div>

jimfromnsf · Aug 4, 2007

"Urrrgghh!! I stayed up last night to watch the launch on TV, but not one single peep! Nothing! I had to peek over at nasaspaceflight.com to even find out the launch was successful. " Why did you just peep and not just monitor it there? And why not NTV on the web?

gunsandrockets · Aug 4, 2007

dialup

3488 · Aug 5, 2007

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A NASA probe bound to dig into the icy Arctic Circle of Mars is in good health after a picturesque predawn launch, mission managers said Saturday. The Phoenix Mars Lander is precisely on target for its 422 million-mile (679 million-kilometer) trip to the red planet following an early morning liftoff today from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "We have a happy spacecraft," said Ed Sedivy, spacecraft program manager for Phoenix's builder Lockheed Martin, during a post-launch briefing here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, adding that telemetry from the probe was spot on. "At that moment, everybody knew that it was the homerun that they were looking for." A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket blasted Phoenix into space at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT ( 0926:34 GMT), leaving a ghostly contrail of exhaust as the spacecraft left Earth behind. The lander is due to land on the flat arctic plains near Mars' north pole on May 25, 2008. "It was the most beautiful thing I've seen," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona, of the liftoff. "This cloud turned into what looked like wings and a beak and a long tail and looked amazingly just like a phoenix bird, the message to me was: Phoenix bird has risen! And it has. We're on our way to Mars." Phoenix is now speeding through space at about 12,300 miles per hour (19,794 kph) - almost its top speed - relative to Earth, and should pass beyond the moon's orbit by about 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) this afternoon, mission managers said. The 772-pound (350-kilogram) spacecraft's launch was so precise that Phoenix was able to conserve about 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of precious propellant, which will add some maneuvering flexibility once the probe prepares for its Mars descent next year. NASA's $420 million Phoenix mission is aimed at an icy, fl <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "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". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

h2ouniverse · Aug 5, 2007

TIW, The point of lowest altitude (*) when the potential oceans dried up should logically be a concentration point for many things including biotes -if any-. Regards. (*) probably not the current lowest altitude btw, given crust moves since that time - they have a theory that the previous coast of a Vastitas Borealis ocean is now warped (no longer an iso-altitude line)

MeteorWayne · Aug 5, 2007

Yeah, wouldn't want to interrupt any of those moneymaking shows on at 5:30 AM <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 5, 2007

almost identical. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Aug 5, 2007

Post Launch Release: 08.04.07 Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-5011 guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov George Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 george.h.diller@nasa.gov Sara Hammond University of Arizona, Tucson 520-626-1974 shammond@lpl.arizona.edu RELEASE: 45-07 NASA SPACECRAFT HEADS FOR POLAR REGION ON MARS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission blasted off Saturday, aiming for a May 25, 2008, arrival at the Red Planet and a close-up examination of the surface of the northern polar region. Perched atop a Delta II rocket, the spacecraft left Cape Canaveral Air Force Base at 5:26 a.m. EDT into the predawn sky above Florida's Atlantic coast. "Today's launch is the first step in the long journey to the surface of Mars. We certainly are excited about launching, but we still are concerned about our actual landing, the most difficult step of this mission," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson. The spacecraft established communications with its ground team via the Goldstone, Calif., antenna station of NASA's Deep Space Network at 7:02 a.m. EDT, after separating from the third stage of the launch vehicle. "The launch team did a spectacular job getting us on the way." said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Our trajectory is still being evaluated in detail; however we are well within expected limits for a successful journey to the red planet. We are all thrilled!" Phoenix will be the first mission to touch water-ice on Mars. Its robotic arm will dig to <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

Phoenix Mars Lander.

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