Late in March I wrote about the NASA spacecraft named Phoenix speeding toward a rendezvous with the planet Mars. Phoenix is a lander that was launched from Cape Canaveral in early August of 2007 and is now closing in on the red planet at the rate of about a million miles a day.
The news as of today is that with just two million miles to go, “All systems are nominal and stable,” says Ed Sedivy, Phoenix spacecraft program manager for Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
That’s right, two million miles to go at a million miles a day puts the Phoenix on target for a landing at just about 8 pm Eastern time Sunday evening. A safe landing will be big news; mankind’s success rate for landing spacecraft on Mars is 5 for 11, or just under 50%.
Why is it so tough to land on Mars? Mostly for the same reason that it is hard to skydive from an airplane without a functioning parachute. As the saying goes: “It’s not the fall that’s the problem, it’s the sudden stop at the end.”
To land safely, Phoenix will have to slow from about 13,000 mph to about 5 mph (relative to Mars), using aerobraking, a strong parachute and retrorockets in about the last 1,000 miles of its journey. This firey last seven minutes is the toughest part of the lander’s nearly ten-month trip to Mars.
If all goes well, Phoenix will be on the Martian surface beginning its science mission while we’re eating hotdogs and enjoying a cold drink Monday afternoon. To follow the Phoenix mission on the Web, visit www.nasa.gov/phoenix/.
If you’ve been watching Mars in the sky over the past few nights you’ve seen it slide into the Beehive! The Beehive is the familiar name for a cluster of stars called M44 in the constellation Cancer.
Mars is presently situated nicely for viewing; look for the red planet about half way up in the sky above the horizon to the southwest after the sky darkens after sunset. The Beehive is a nice target for a pair of binoculars, but you’ll need a telescope for a close-up view of Mars.
Regarding the telescope, I’ve got you covered. I planned to head to the city beach parking lot with my scope on Sat., May 10, which was National Astronomy Day. But it was not clear, so I’ll try again this weekend.
If you’d like to squeeze some astronomy into your Memorial Day weekend, come to the Grand Haven city beach parking lot between about 9:30 and 11:00 pm on Saturday — if it is more clear than cloudy. As of my deadline, the forecast looks promising.
Early in the evening, soon after sunset at about 9:15 pm, we may catch a glimpse of Mercury. A bit later, Mars and Saturn will be in our sights, along with whatever else we may discover.
If you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope of your own, bring them along. Hope to see you there.
