- We had a vision back in February of 2002.
Let's follow up on this great new discovery
by the Odyssey Orbiter
that there's ice in the polar regions.
But following up, the quickest we can do it
is six-and-a-half years.
That's a long wait.
You see, my hair's gone gray,
I'm turning into an old man while I'm waiting
for this mission to happen.
So now it's coming up, you know, I'm ready and
it's been hard to wait so long.
(people laughing)
There's a lot of passion that goes into this mission.
We had a kind of a debriefing last night
at the end of our training period, our dress rehearsal,
and I was telling people,
this is a once in your life adventure we're on and
accept that experience with your full heart because
it's not gonna happen again.
We only land on Mars once and that is a thrilling adventure.
Get involved and just feel every moment of it
'cause don't sit in the back and pretend it's not happening
or that it's just another test.
This is real.
- Welcome to NASA's jet propulsion laboratory
in Pasadena, California and we're about 77 hours, right now,
from that sequence known as EDL.
- We're having a press conference tomorrow
to talk about the health of the spacecraft.
- As we sit here today, it's really very humbling,
what we've gone through the past five years.
- Hopefully the whole world is watching with us
'cause this is really a mission about the,
the world community going to Mars,
that's the way I look at it.
- Are we going to see the northern plains
in those first pictures or are we gonna be
just seeing solar panels?
- Today, we are one day away from the entry
into the Martian atmosphere and the descent and landing
at the north polar region of Mars.
- If we land successfully
and if we're able to do the science
that we've designed into this mission,
I have every expectation that we'll be able
to rewrite the textbooks.
- Go where there is no path
and leave a trail for others to follow.
That's what Phoenix is doing tomorrow.
- It doesn't get any more exciting than this.
- Welcome to NASA's jet propulsion laboratory
in Pasadena, California and thank you for joining us
for today's final pre-landing briefing
for the Phoenix Mission to Mars.
I'm Veronica McGregor.
- The sky is clear, we've been watching the weather.
Everything is set for us.
Have a sunny day.
The rest of the day is just watching and waiting.
- Atmospheric entry on my mark.
(dramatic music)
Five, four, three, two, one.
Mark.
Expected peak heating rate in one and 40 seconds.
Standing by for a possible plasma blackout.
- For those in another room, the question was
is what's gonna happen to the lander, I guess,
after the mission's over and whether
wind and other things might move it around.
So it takes us eight hours to get up to 12,700 miles an hour
and then we have seven minutes
to take that velocity down to zero.
- You'll see him scream and you'll probably see me scream
and then I'll run off and get some champagne.
- [Man] At this point in time,
Phoenix goes normally through peak heating.
We still have a signal via Odyssey,
standing by for reacquisition via direct to Earth.
- There's no second chance.
There's no, you know, we're not
going into orbit or anything, we're going straight in and
that's our fate.
- Stop Odyssey canister data and switch to 32K
in 10 seconds.
Standing by for expected parachute deployment.
(crowd applauding)
Parachute deployment trigger detected.
Heat shield trigger detected.
Ground level velocity 90 meters per second.
(clapping)
Land leg deployment trigger detected.
Ground level velocity 60 meters per second.
Standing by for altitude convergence.
Radar reliable.
(clapping)
Altitude 2,000 meters.
Altitude convergence detected.
Altitude 1,800 meters.
1,700 meters.
1,600 meters.
Standing by for landing separation, altitude 1100 meters.
Altitude 1,000 meters.
(whooshing) Separation detected.
We are verifying the signal.
Gravity turn detected.
(upbeat music) (cheering)
Altitude 600 meters, 500 meters.
400 meters.
250 meters.
150 meters.
100 meters.
80 meters.
60 meters.
- Come on! - Constant velocity
phase detected, altitude 40 meters.
30 meters.
20 meters.
15 meters, standing by for touchdown.
Touchdown signal detected. (clapping and cheering)
We landed it.
Landing sequence initiated.
Phoenix has landed!
Welcome to the northern plains of Mars!