Monday, May 26, 2008

The Phoenix Has Landed

Phoenix has landed safely on Mars. The views of the Martian Arctic it is sending are stunning. The polygonal reticulated surface is indicative of the freezing and thawing cycles of the permafrost. We now await the interesting science to start coming out. On a personal note, the lander is carrying my name, together with countless others, on a silica mini-DVD as part of a Message from Earth initiative of the Planetary Society

Friday, May 16, 2008

Nasa's Phoenix Mission

Just a few days left for Nasa's Phoenix mission to land in the Martian North Polar region on May 25th. This mission will land much further North than any other previous lander. It will examine the Martian soil and ice. The intention is to study the permafrost and check whether the conditions are, or ever were, habitable and who knows, maybe find signs of past, or dare I say present, life.

So we may be in for some interesting discoveries to help us build a better understanding of our little red neighbour.

Labels: , , ,