Phoenix Mars Lander Transported to Florida

August Launch Scheduled as Part of NASA's Mars Scout Program

NASA's newest Mars lander arrived in Cape Canaveral on Monday, May 7-the first stop on its long voyage to the red planet. The robotic lander, dubbed "Phoenix," was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., in Denver. The lander was transported from Colorado to Florida to be prepared and undergo further testing prior to its journey.

Phoenix is scheduled to take off aboard a Delta II launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in August.

The orbital patterns of Earth and Mars make Martian trips tricky. Due to Earth's relative alignment to the red planet, launch windows that provide energy efficient trips come but once every two years. The first available launch time for Phoenix to meet this criteria will occur on August 3 at 5:35 a.m. EDT.

If launched successfully, Phoenix will land softly next spring in the Martian arctic. For a landing in the far northern reaches of the planet, the 2007 launch window is particularly desirable, as Earth/Mars alignment this year will allow the lander to arrive when sunshine is at its highest intensity in the arctic region.

Previous studies of the Martian surface from orbital spacecraft strongly indicate that the soil in the immediate area of the landing site holds frozen water. A digging arm on the lander, along with other sophisticated scientific instruments, will determine if the soil beneath the surface may have been favorable for the development of life of the microbial variety.

Leslie Tamppari, Phoenix project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., said, "The arctic plains are the right place for the next step in Mars exploration, and this is the right time to go there. We expect to touch Martian ice for the first time, a real leap in NASA's follow-the-water strategy. The lander needs solar energy, and we will arrive for a three-month prime mission right at the end of northern Mars' spring."