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Probe lands on Mars, NASA says »

Posted by: Deidre 3 months, 2 weeks ago

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he first-ever landing of a probe near Mars' north pole happened smoothly on Sunday, NASA confirmed.

Read Full Story at cnn.com

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capn_caveman3 months, 2 weeks ago

Great news!
Some of the first images from the probe can be found here:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/main.php
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images/lan...
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images/phx...
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images/phx...
It certainly looks like it landed in the very middle of nowhere on Mars.
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  Aidenag3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  Thanks for the heads up on the pics, i figured we wouldn't be seeing any from the new lander for another day.
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    BronxBomber3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    Thanx Oh Capn my Capn! Great pix, and my hearty congratulations to NASA for a very successful launch that went very well w/o a hitch! (WoW! Mars looks like part of the Arizona desert don't it?)
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      lovemylibs3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      It did land 1/4 of a degree from vertical. That is a hitch if I ever saw one.
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      Blackacereturn3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      I watched this and got chills, thanks for the story and the pic!
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memestryker3 months, 2 weeks ago

"The lander is equipped with a robotic arm capable of scooping up ice and dirt to look for organic evidence that life once existed there, or even exists now."
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  lovemylibs3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  I'm confused by the mission of Phoenix. It was sent to the north pole of Mars and equipped with tools to explore the ice and permafrost. The pictures show no ice.
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    Beau78903 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    They say the ice is below the surface.
    From a NY Times article:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/space...
    "'I know it looks a little like a parking lot,' said Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona, the mission's principal investigator, at a news conference four hours after Phoenix's landing on Sunday, 'but it's a safe place to land.'
    "But the monotonous landscape is not why Phoenix went to Mars. 'I guarantee it. There's ice under this surface,' Dr. Smith said. 'It doesn't look like it. You don't see ice, but it's down there.' "
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      lovemylibs3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      Thanks for the explanation. I wonder if that Dr. Smith is an ancestor of this Dr. Smith.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C41RihwfVwA
      
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        Beau78903 months, 2 weeks ago
        
        I was wondering that too!
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        chevydog3 months, 2 weeks ago
        
        Maybe it is a parking lot; and the ice is left over from a party.
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HanymanComment removed: User banned.
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CRYMTYPHON3 months, 2 weeks ago

I see a beer can over to the left of the first pic.
Pretty sure I do.

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  HannibalBarca3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  Damn Canucks, we should clean up better after we party.
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    lovemylibs3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    I thought Canucks were from Venus?
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      Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      Lovemylibs - I take it you flunked geography then ? EVERYONE knows that Canucks come from Canuckia....
      Dohhh !!!!!
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ZenAgain3 months, 2 weeks ago

You're kidding aren't you digital fever? This is an amazing accomplishment and can provide so many answers to questions that up until now, have remained unanswered. This can benefit the whole of mankind.
This is what makes America a great country. Unfortunately what overshadows your great country is the legitimately colossal waste of time and money (and life), in a country that begins with an 'I' and ends in 'Q'.
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  mrbs3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  zenagain...you were fine till you last sentence. you do not have to bring that argument into the discussion as it demeans your first statement.
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    HannibalBarca3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    No, when talking about a waste of money, I do believe that losing pallets of money in Iraq would fall under that category, nothing political there.
    At least this Mars landing will have some if not a lot of value to all
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    ZenAgain3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    mrbs, you are right, it was rather remiss of me to bring that into what is rather stunning news from a global perspective and from that I offer my apologies.
    On the same token, wouldn't it be fantastic if just a small portion of that time, money and effort was directed at beneficial science and the progression of us as a species? Just think of what could be achieved.
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      mrbs3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      and just think of what could be achieved if all the money wasted on preventing global warming were used to actually figure out if it really is our fault or can be prevented or perhaps using those funds for adaptation to the new climate in a clearly chaotic system punctuated by catastrophe.you want to play that game it can be done.lets not use negative arguments to promote a positive event.i could go on a laundry list of places we can get the money from that makes amount of money and effort spent on the war look like pocket change.but i wont.
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        ZenAgain3 months, 2 weeks ago
        
        Ok mrbs, have it your way. I offered my apology above, perhaps I won't be so forthcoming next time. Can you acknowledge that not everyone shares your belief that war is a good way to achieve a means that is quite clearly designed to benefit one country and that's your own? And by the sign of your struggling economy, it's hardly 'pocket change'.
        And, if you want to diverge from the subject (which is clearly anathema to Dicax Maximus), what could be the worst result by addressing climate change? Probably nothing. By ignoring it however, maybe not within our generation, but one day the end result could be catastrophic.
        I recently returned from a trip to Shanghai, not once did I see the sky. If you feel comfortable adapting to that, be my guest.
        
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        mrbs3 months, 2 weeks ago
        
        the reason for not directly accepting the apology was your trying to have it both ways with the "on the same token"
        didnt say war was good.just that the list of waste that exceeds the amount spent on the war by an incalculable number is long.
        2nd our economy is not so struggling as we are led to believe in this election year led by a press that is clearly out to get Oboma elected.
        3rd the worst result is that we spend all our resources on a problem that cannot be solved and we dont have any left to survive with a plan b.as i said in a post down below the earth can take care of herself and get rid of us if she wants.our best bet is to get our eggs out of this one basket first ..then work on earth
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  Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  ZA - Please excuse my "pos", I hit the button before I read the second part of your statement....
  Consider it a NEG !!!
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    ZenAgain3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    You're excused, please refer to my apology above. However, as a non-American who is actually very fond of your country and people, it's refreshing to read something VERY positive about your nation for a change.
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      Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      ZA - Kudos to you for your apology...
      No, I'm not a US citizen, simply someone who considers that the solar system (and the stars) are the ONLY viable "safety net" for humanity.... If it isn't ourselves, an asteroid or a virus will probably terminate our tenure on this planet !
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Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago

DF - Somewhat shortsighted comment.....
Or do you think that mankind can survive on this "small rock" indefinitely ?????? If you do, you have just lost the respect I had gained from some of your other posts on different topics........
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  Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  Propeller "lost" my ediit to the above comment....
  It was supposed to have stated :-
  If you do, you have just lost the respect I had gained for you, from some of your other posts on different topics........
  
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ciera-marie3 months, 2 weeks ago

You know in away I kind of Agree with DF. Considering the debt we are currently in; we aren't doing that well taking care of our planet or each other; now might not be the best time to go exploring other planets to possibly live on.
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  mrbs3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  well the taking care of the planet argument is up to debate.the planet dosent need us to look after it..if it want to it will wipe us out.our best course of action is for the only confirmed source of life in the universe to get its eggs out of this one basket.till this is done everything else is secondary.this mars trip is simply one small step in that goal.once we have ourselves established out there then we can worry about the earth.cus i can tell you the earth dosent worry about us ..we are expendable.
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Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago

Great job NASA !!!
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slate3 months, 2 weeks ago

This is very cool, the complexity of hitting a moving planet with something moving 12,000 MPH and it all working!
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  slate3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  Now, if only NASA could come up with the gene that would keep humans for taking every opportunity to take a political or religious in a thread about a topic completely removed from them. Now that would be the scientific break through of human kind.
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    Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    slate - I'll second that & pass it unanimous !!!!
    'Twould appear that some people are so wrapped up in their own small worlds, they just HAVE to associate anything with a different topic....
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      ZenAgain3 months, 2 weeks ago
      
      I'll try to be more careful next time and stay 'on topic'.
      Now, what's happening with Britney? Whoops, sorry.....
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    mrbs3 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    well said slate
    
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KvilleTXComment removed: User banned.1 Reply
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  Grancher3 months, 1 week ago
  
  And I thought the British sending their criminals to prison camps in Australia sounded silly...
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  CRYMTYPHON3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  me too.
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Coatl3 months, 2 weeks ago

Double post!
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Coatl3 months, 2 weeks ago

Why is there a picture of Venus in a Mars realted article? =P
(it wasn't meant to be a reply to KvilleTX)
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dbo19953 months, 2 weeks ago

are you kidding??
It's ARIZONA. dont fall for the ol' mars or moon landing trick.!!!!
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nothingpetty3 months, 2 weeks ago

"What the next probe should bring is a plastic flower and a beach ball just to give some color to the landscape."
We're not there 5 minutes and somebody wants to begin littering?
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hefaa13 months, 2 weeks ago

On to Uranus.
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DeLeMaComment removed: User banned.
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Niimki3 months, 2 weeks ago

Yes...however how about you go with them for us to make sure they all get there. Start right in building a wall to keep them there too.
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  Dicax_Maximus3 months, 2 weeks ago
  
  Sorry Niimki, that was supposed to be a neg.....
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