Delta II launches Phoenix Mars lander

8/4/07 ~ 5:26 a.m.

UPDATED: PHOENIX LANDS! On May 25, 2008 at 7:53 p.m. EDT Earth-receive time, the Phoenix Mars lander successfully touched down on the north-polar region of Mars. It is the first time since 1976, when Viking 1 & 2 made the first successful Mars landings, that a spacecraft landed under the power of engines. Phoenix is the sixth successful touchdown on Mars, joining the Vikings, Mars Pathfinder in 1997 and the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2004. The last attempt to land with engines, Mars Polar Lander in 1999, failed; half of all Mars landings have ended in disaster.

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander blasts off for the Red Planet's north pole on Aug. 4, 2007 headed towards a May 25, 2008 touchdown. Launched aboard a 13-story Delta II rocket, the vehicle departed the Earth on its first try. What's up with the orange color in some photos? NASA's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility uses orange sodium lighting as part of what makes it a top-level cleanroom for interplanetary spacecraft. This is easily corrected by white-balancing to make the light white and see how the spacecraft looks under normal daylight, but some photos are taken to provide a better understanding of what it looks like when you are there in person.