In August 2003 NASA selected the University of Arizona "Phoenix" mission for launch in 2007 as what is hoped will be the first in a new line of smaller, low-cost, "Scout" missions in the agency's exploration of Mars program.[3] The selection was the result of an intense two-year competition with proposals from other institutions. The $325 million NASA award is more than six times larger than any other single research grant in University of Arizona history.
Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, was selected to lead the mission as Principal Investigator. The mission was named after the Phoenix, a mythological bird that is repeatedly reborn from its own ashes. Like the mythic bird, the Phoenix spacecraft contains several previously built components. The lander used for the 2007 mission is the modified Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (cancelled in 2000), along with several of the instruments from both that and the previous polar lander mission. Lockheed Martin had kept the nearly-complete lander in environmentally-controlled storage since 2001.
Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, was selected to lead the mission as Principal Investigator. The mission was named after the Phoenix, a mythological bird that is repeatedly reborn from its own ashes. Like the mythic bird, the Phoenix spacecraft contains several previously built components. The lander used for the 2007 mission is the modified Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (cancelled in 2000), along with several of the instruments from both that and the previous polar lander mission. Lockheed Martin had kept the nearly-complete lander in environmentally-controlled storage since 2001.
Phoenix is a partnership of universities, NASA centers, and the aerospace industry. The science instruments and operations will be a University of Arizona responsibility. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will manage the project and provide mission design and control. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colorado, built and tested the spacecraft. The Canadian Space Agency will provide a meteorological station, including an innovative Laser-based atmospheric sensor. The co-investigator institutions include Malin Space Science Systems (California), Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Germany), NASA Ames Research Center (California), NASA Johnson Space Center (Texas), Optech Incorporated, SETI Institute, Texas A&M University, Tufts University, University of Colorado, University of Michigan, University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), University of Texas at Dallas, University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, and York University (Canada).
On June 2, 2005, following a critical review of the project's planning progress and preliminary design, NASA approved the mission to proceed as planned.[4] The purpose of the review was to confirm NASA's confidence in the mission.
The lander will land the same way the Viking program landers did, slowed primarily by landing rockets.[5] In 2007, a report was filed to the American Astronomical Society by Washington State University professor Dirk Schulze-Makuch, which made a claim that rocket exhaust contaminated the Viking landing sites, potentially killing any life that may have been there.[6] The hypothesis was made long after any modifications to Phoenix could be made without delaying the mission significantly. One of the investigators on the Phoenix mission, NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, merely stated that the report "piqued his interest". Experiments conducted by Nilton Renno, mission Co-Investigator from the University of Michigan, and his students have specifically looked at how much surface dust will be kicked up when Phoenix lands.[7]
On June 2, 2005, following a critical review of the project's planning progress and preliminary design, NASA approved the mission to proceed as planned.[4] The purpose of the review was to confirm NASA's confidence in the mission.
The lander will land the same way the Viking program landers did, slowed primarily by landing rockets.[5] In 2007, a report was filed to the American Astronomical Society by Washington State University professor Dirk Schulze-Makuch, which made a claim that rocket exhaust contaminated the Viking landing sites, potentially killing any life that may have been there.[6] The hypothesis was made long after any modifications to Phoenix could be made without delaying the mission significantly. One of the investigators on the Phoenix mission, NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, merely stated that the report "piqued his interest". Experiments conducted by Nilton Renno, mission Co-Investigator from the University of Michigan, and his students have specifically looked at how much surface dust will be kicked up when Phoenix lands.[7]
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