Flight of the PHOENIX alert!

grober · 24-05-2008, 02:29 PM

For anyone interested in this sort of thing-i.e. planetary exploration- the MARS PHOENIX LANDER is due to touch down on the Mars Polar region in 1day 10h 12 mins EDT countdown at time of posting having traveled about 423 million miles. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ph...ain/index.html
thats about 7-53 EDT Sunday i.e. EARLY MONDAY MORNING in the UK. Of 11 previous attempts that various nations have made to land spacecraft on Mars, only five have succeeded. Phoenix is equipped to study the history of the water now frozen into the site's permafrost, to check for carbon-containing chemicals that are essential ingredients for life, and to monitor polar-region weather on Mars from a surface perspective for the first time. The lander gets its name because its a updated version of a probe built for a previous mission that was cancelled. [The lander used for the 2007 mission is the modified Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (cancelled in 2000), along with several of the instruments from both that and the previous unsuccessful Mars Polar Lander mission. Lockheed Martin had kept the nearly-complete lander in environmentally-controlled storage since 2001].

grober · 25-05-2008, 08:42 AM

16hrs 9mins EDT http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/tim.../eastern-time/

glojo · 25-05-2008, 08:47 AM

Hi Greame
Thanks very much for taking the time to keep us updated.

Regards
John

grober · 25-05-2008, 08:53 AM

Here's an artists impression of the lander on the surface. That's if it doesn't do a "Beagle" on us!

grober · 25-05-2008, 10:47 PM

2hrs 5mins left NASA TV coverage starts in about 45mins.

grober · 26-05-2008, 12:56 AM

TOUCHDOWN

grober · 26-05-2008, 09:41 AM

First close up picture of the Mars icy surface in false colour and a large scale picture of the immediate somewhat bleak surroundings . Textbook mission so far with solar arrays and camera masts deployed and the lander in a good horizontal attitude. Unlike the Mars rovers which have far exceeded their projected mission life the lander's mission life of 92 days is likely to cease during the Martian "winter" when it could be submerged in a layer of solid CO2 up to 3 metres deep.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_lander

glojo · 26-05-2008, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grober

TOUCHDOWN

I impressed that you stayed up to witness this amazing event. Great pictures and a brilliant achievement.

Regards
John

grober · 26-05-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glojo

I impressed that you stayed up to witness this amazing event. Great pictures and a brilliant achievement.

Regards
John

Tremendous quiet tension in the control room during the landing.

Five years of hard work for many people "on the line" so to speak,for about 7 agonising minutes.

Great celebrations on successful touchdown. A lot of happy people. It was good to see

glojo · 26-05-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grober

Tremendous quiet tension in the control room during the landing.

Five years of hard work for many people "on the line" so to speak,for about 7 agonising minutes.

Great celebrations on successful touchdown. A lot of happy people. It was good to see

I think a few of us can still remember the upset and frustration shown on the faces of all those involved in the Beagle attempt.

regards
John

Godot · 27-05-2008, 04:51 PM

:bann ana:

grober · 27-05-2008, 05:04 PM

Fassin Taak starts to regret his new traffic warden job with the Vastitas Borealis Parking Authority??

24-05-2008, 02:29 PM	#1
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	Flight of the PHOENIX alert! For anyone interested in this sort of thing-i.e. planetary exploration- the MARS PHOENIX LANDER is due to touch down on the Mars Polar region in 1day 10h 12 mins EDT countdown at time of posting having traveled about 423 million miles. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ph...ain/index.html thats about 7-53 EDT Sunday i.e. EARLY MONDAY MORNING in the UK. Of 11 previous attempts that various nations have made to land spacecraft on Mars, only five have succeeded. Phoenix is equipped to study the history of the water now frozen into the site's permafrost, to check for carbon-containing chemicals that are essential ingredients for life, and to monitor polar-region weather on Mars from a surface perspective for the first time. The lander gets its name because its a updated version of a probe built for a previous mission that was cancelled. [The lander used for the 2007 mission is the modified Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (cancelled in 2000), along with several of the instruments from both that and the previous unsuccessful Mars Polar Lander mission. Lockheed Martin had kept the nearly-complete lander in environmentally-controlled storage since 2001]. __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s Last edited by grober; 24-05-2008 at 02:44 PM.

25-05-2008, 08:42 AM	#2
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	16hrs 9mins EDT http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/tim.../eastern-time/ __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s Last edited by grober; 25-05-2008 at 08:45 AM.

25-05-2008, 08:53 AM	#4
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	Here's an artists impression of the lander on the surface. That's if it doesn't do a "Beagle" on us! __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s Last edited by grober; 21-06-2008 at 04:08 PM.

25-05-2008, 10:47 PM	#5
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	2hrs 5mins left NASA TV coverage starts in about 45mins. __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s

26-05-2008, 12:56 AM	#6
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	TOUCHDOWN __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s

25-05-2008, 08:47 AM	#3
glojo Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Torquay Car: S211 Sprinter 213CDI, & the new T-class Posts: 16,508	Hi Greame Thanks very much for taking the time to keep us updated. Regards John

26-05-2008, 09:41 AM	#7
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	First close up picture of the Mars icy surface in false colour and a large scale picture of the immediate somewhat bleak surroundings . Textbook mission so far with solar arrays and camera masts deployed and the lander in a good horizontal attitude. Unlike the Mars rovers which have far exceeded their projected mission life the lander's mission life of 92 days is likely to cease during the Martian "winter" when it could be submerged in a layer of solid CO2 up to 3 metres deep.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_lander __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s Last edited by grober; 07-07-2008 at 10:04 AM.

27-05-2008, 04:51 PM	#11
Godot Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: May 2007 Location: Advocatus Diaboli in a Rest Home for the Terminally bewildered on the Hills above Folkestone Kent Car: A180 CDI Elegance Auto 3 Door Panoramic Sun Roof, Bi Xenons Posts: 199	Whoops! :bann ana:

27-05-2008, 05:04 PM	#12
grober Hardcore MB Enthusiast Threadstarter Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Perth SCOTLAND Car: E220 COUPE Posts: 8,803	Fassin Taak starts to regret his new traffic warden job with the Vastitas Borealis Parking Authority?? __________________ Cheers Graeme E220 COUPE auto 96 Last of the Ol 124s Last edited by grober; 27-05-2008 at 05:12 PM.

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