The Phoenix Mars Lander, set to become just the sixth spacecraft to successfully land on Mars, is undergoing final processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at the Kennedy Space Center. Already tucked away inside the cruise stage- its solar arrays folded up for launch - and the conical aeroshell that it will travel to Mars and enter the Martian atmosphere in, the bottom of Phoenix is all that is seen now, including its three legs and the 12 thrusters (seen here with red plugs) that will gently set the spacecraft on Mars' north polar region in May 2008. A technician provides a sense of scale as he make adjustments to the lander. Once fueling of the spacecraft is complete, its approx. 9-foot-diameter heatshield, seen in photos below, will be attached. The Phoenix project logo can be seen on the wall below:
