The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: September 2, 2007

Official News - page 12


ON THE WEB: PHOENIX BLASTS OFF TO MARS

by Hazed

Here's a great picture of NASA's latest mission to Mars blasting off. The Phoenix spacecraft is heading to the red planet to examine ice and see if it could now, or in the past, have sustained life. It will arrive in May 2008, landing in an unexplored north polar region of the planet that is rich in water-ice.

Unlike the Spirit and Opportunity rovers which are still rolling along, Phoenix isn't going to move from its landing spot. Instead, it will deploy its cameras, its robotic arm, and a small chemistry laboratory to inspect, dig, and chemically analyze its landing area.

See the picture of the take-off on the Astronomy Pic of the Day website.


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