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Phoenix Lander Safely on Mars (Just Landed)


Jumbo

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My astronomer buddy (he brought his telescope out last night and we watched the rings of Saturn and the moons around Jupiter) has this on and we all watched the final 20 minutes of descent while grilling the burgers. Pretty cool for earthlings. A ten year project ends with a safe landing. Still a few key events yet to take place, but just having the touch down successful was the big one. Pretty damn cool accomplishment. You should have seen all the nerds geeking out at Univ. of Az mission control & the JPL dudes. :laugh:

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Link!?!?! Anyone!?!
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4925913

Recent link. A search on "Phoenix mars lander" will yield more. :)

Here's a couple others

http://www.theledger.com/article/20080525/BREAKING/686116400

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

The above will relate to Hog's question. :)

Another:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20071030.html

(my bad for not taking time to do it with first post but it had just landed and then I had to make sure I got the best burger off the grille);)

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http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4925913

Recent link. A search on "Phoenix mars lander" will yield more. :)

Here's a couple others

http://www.theledger.com/article/20080525/BREAKING/686116400

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

The above will relate to Hog's question. :)

Another:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20071030.html

(my bad for not taking time to do it with first post but it had just landed and then I had to make sure I got the best burger off the grille);)

Sweet. Thanks for the links.

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My astronomer buddy (he brought his telescope out last night and we watched the rings of Saturn and the moons around Jupiter) has this on and we all watched the final 20 minutes of descent while grilling the burgers. Pretty cool for earthlings. A ten year project ends with a safe landing. Still a few key events yet to take place, but just having the touch down successful was the big one. Pretty damn cool accomplishment. You should have seen all the nerds geeking out at Univ. of Az mission control & the JPL dudes. :laugh:

That's hilarious, I love watching nerds in an excited frenzy! Really though, this is an awesome story and I am looking forward to following it closely to appease my inner nerd....:D

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Watched with my son Daniel, and am still watching. Pretty exciting stuff. I hope to live long enough to see us put a man on Mars. If you really think about it - the only hope for human survival (ultimately) depends on colonizing other planets.

Go humans!

Cool stuff, and sad that such amazing things barely garner a yawn from the average Joe. Then again, that's why they're 'average' :)

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John, when I was about 13-15 and really into science fiction (Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury, Ellison), I developed this "theory/philosophical view" out of pondering about all the different ways thinkers of the past have tried to present humans as "special" from other species. I read so many spiritual and secular offerings as to various qualities or traits that made us unique and advanced or "better" in some way--everything from souls to opposable thumbs to complextiy of linguistics and all the stuff in-between. :D

And the one thing I made up for myself that might really set us apart in some meaningful manner was that we may be the one life form born to this sphere that develops and utilizes an ability to leave it and travel to other planets.

And then, of course, to go on to spread throughout the cosmos (the latter barring encountering terminally ass-kicking aliens :silly: ) until we come full circle and evolve into pure energy beings that can control all matter, space, and time. And at that point of omniscience, with no where left to go as a species but to coalesce into a single entity stretching across the multiverse, choosing to collapse it all to the ultimate singularity and begin the cycle again.

I really liked that idea as a kid. :cool: :laugh:

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It seems like the surface is formed in some wave like pattern, my guess would be from the wind?

IIRC there was evidently once water on Mars. Those patterns look more like those left behind by flowing water.

Excellent pics. Nobody seems to have caught the Spender reference but The Martian Chronicals was one of my favorite (psuedo) novels as a kid. Getting to see real pics of Mars is just cool.

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