Phoenix Mars Lander in testing PIA01885
NASA's next Mars-bound spacecraft, the Phoenix Mars Lander, was partway through assembly and testing at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, in September 2006, progressing toward an August 2007 launch from Florida. In this photograph, spacecraft specialists work on the lander after its fan-like circular solar arrays have been spread open for testing. The arrays will be in this configuration when the spacecraft is active on the surface of Mars.
Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. It will dig into the surface, test scooped-up samples for carbon-bearing compounds and serve as NASA's first exploration of a potential habitat on Mars.
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Phoenix (Raumsonde)Phoenix war eine NASA-Raumsonde zur Erforschung des Planeten Mars, die am 4. August 2007 startete, am 25. Mai 2008 (UTC) nahe der nördlichen Polarregion des Mars landete und am 2. November 2008 zum letzten Mal Signale zur Erde funkte. Die Sonde gehörte zum Mars-Scout-Programm der NASA, in dem kleinere und kostengünstigere Raumsonden geführt wurden. .. weiterlesen