Day of the Phoenix
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Today is the day! The Phoenix spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere this afternoon.
Some of the headlines are rather ominous for example this one from CNN: NASA preps for ‘7 minutes of terror’ on Mars.
There is good reason for this, Phoenix will enter the Martian atmosphere at between 12,000 and 13,000 miles per hour and in the six and a half to seven minutes it is going to take to get to the ground, the spacecraft will be slowed to just 5 miles per hour just before the Phoenix Lander, touches the ground. the last missions successfully used airbags containing and cushioning the landers, not this one though. The last successful landing without airbags was something like 1976. (note: I forgot a segment of this paragraph in the original and it sounded as if there were airbags, sorry for any confusion)
NASA is quick to point only five of thirteen landing attempts have been successful so there is no guarantee either. I on the other hand am quite positive!
I suspect the most stressful part of the day will be the 15 minutes between the time the Phoenix lands and we find out about it.
So where to go for coverage?
CNN with Miles O’Brien will stream the landing live on the internet at this link. Unsure of televised coverage, but I am guessing yes.
NASA TV will have coverage both on the web and on TV
And the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope will be streaming GBT coverage on its site located here.
I hope to be blogging too, if you pop in, refresh your browser often for the latest.
I will also post updates as warranted, but I kind of hope not, I want a nice smooth flight in.
[...] Original post by Tom [...]
Today is Phoenix Mars Lander Day…
As you digest hot dogs or tend to one of your geektastic Memorial Day grilling machines today, take a moment to consider NASA’s Phoenix Lander, which is scheduled to touch down on Mars this evening. At about 8 p.m. EST,……
Good luck and smooth flight to the Phoenix! Don’t let those pesky Martians get ya!
[...] You should be aware that NASA has the odds stacked against it when it comes to off world remote control landings. To date, only five of thirteen landing attempts have been successful. NASA notes there will be a 15-minute delay between the landing and a confirmation, due to distance, so… *finger crossed* [Tom’s Astronomy Blog] [...]
[...] You should be aware that NASA has the odds stacked against it when it comes to off world remote control landings. To date, only five of thirteen landing attempts have been successful. NASA notes there will be a 15-minute delay between the landing and a confirmation, due to distance, so… *finger crossed* [Tom’s Astronomy Blog] [...]
one of my lecturers is the one who designed an AFM probe to analyse the martian dust!
Let us know what he thinks of whatever happens!
[...] UPDATE II (4:19pm PST): Tom’s Astronomy Blog on the Phoenix Landing [...]
[...] Read none [...]