The Phoenix Has Landed

(May 27, 2008) - It's not Arnold, but it's a start.

When I was a kid, I was completely fascinated by anything having to do with space. The Apollo missions, Star Trek, the space shuttle, it all amazed me. I had models of everything, and books on everything, and I absolutely wanted to be an astronaut like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Of course, I soon realized space travel wasn't as simple as it seemed on Star Trek. Everybody's console had three buttons, some lights, and a clock. Mr. Spock had a little Viewfinder. Anybody could handle that equipment. Of course I thought I'd be an astronaut. Real space travel, Apollo missions and space shuttle flights, would be much harder. Once I realized what the actual path to becoming an astronaut was - straight A's, for one thing, then the Naval Academy, learning to fly, becoming a pilot, a top pilot, then, maybe, joining NASA - well, the dream kind of died.

But space travel goes on even without me. NASA's latest attempt to place a probe on Mars succeeded tonight, when the Phoenix lander touched down on the Martian surface near the north pole a little before 8 p.m. eastern time, completing a 423-million journey that began ten months ago.

Phoenix will begin searching for the frozen water scientists believe lies just below the surface. (Frozen water was, interestingly enough, an important part "Total Recall," which was based on Philip Dick's "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," first published in 1966. Some guys were just way ahead of their times.)

Phoenix is the first probe to land on Mars without using airbags since Viking 2 in 1976. It started transmitting immediately after landing; the data took about 15 minutes to reach Earth - at the speed of light - where it was received by cheers.

"What a thrilling landing!" said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, principal investigator for the Phoenix mission. "I can hardly contain my enthusiasm."

Phoenix's hull and Marian Surface

The lander's been sending a series of photos, like the one above. The next step for the team will be to test Phoenix and make sure everything's working properly. That will include testing its robotic arm, a key piece of equipment. The arm will be used to dig into the Martian surface; the samples it pulls out will be analyzed by onboard equipment.

The picture that Phoenix has sent back so far are just incredible; the mere fact that they're images of another planet to me is amazing. People for thousands of years have looked up at the sky, marked the paths of the planets, and wondered what they really were, what they really looked like, if anybody could ever live there. What the Phoenix team is doing today is the culmination of a yearning that's existed probably since recorded history. I know it gets lost in the cacophony of our 24-hour information assault, but this is pretty big stuff. Galileo would appreciate it.

Can life exist on Mars? Did it ever exist? Will mankind someday colonize Mars the way Dick imagined? Phoenix will start answering those questions. And someday, long after we're all gone I'm sure, maybe we will colonize Mars; would we then be the Martians?

The Martian Surface

-Paul Vigna