NASA's Phoenix probe is in for a wild ride before it settles down on the Red Planet

Landing Sites on Mars NASA/JPL-Caltech

Just because NASA has two robots on the surface right now doesn't mean the landing of the Phoenix probe is a sure thing. At a news conference yesterday, NASA officials stressed that landing a spacecraft on Mars isn't easy: 55 percent of all attempts to do so have failed. Not to mention that the technique Phoenix will use to do so hasn't been employed in a while. Instead of airbags designed to cushion its impact, the lander will fire rockets that slow its descent and, ideally, allow it to settle down softly.

Everything has been proceeding smoothly so far. The spacecraft has had a drama-free ride to the Red Planet. But once it enters the Martian atmosphere at nearly 13,000 miles per hour, the so-called seven minutes of terror begin. Phoenix will have to slow down to five miles per hour before touching down. If all goes according to plan, it will start getting comfortable in its new home at 7:36 EDT on May 25.

Via Reuters

0 Comments



Download Our iPhone App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed



Become a Fan On Facebook

Share links with friends, comment on stories and more


November 2009: Astronaut 3.0

Inside NASA's astronaut bootcamp and the grueling new training regimen for deep space. Plus, ten young geniuses shaking up science today, one writer's quest to analyze every man-made chemical in her body and more.

Check out the issue's full contents online here

Popular Science Photo Pool


Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
tags_sprite.png
POP_embeddedForm_cover_May09.jpg