Watching this for sure, I just hope its gets to land,

I will only get excited once there is confirmation it landed successfully and start digging. Will it find life, i hope so, possibly will as part of the ongoing disclosure that is taking place right now about the existence of ET. Exciting times ahead i hope

Originally posted by angelc01
You are right on one count this is exciting news but on the other hand I would agree with ArMap in that we have a long time waiting for any info becauase as you should know this will go like an Osmosis Reverse procedure where NASA is concerned, nonetheless it is one more step.

I don't think you understood ArMap's post...he didn't say that NASA will be slow with releasing information; he said that the really interesting science will be done with the next probe (The Mars Science Laboratory Rover) that is scheduled to land there in 2010.

According to NASA, we will see the photos at the exact same time they are seeing them -- however, it will be several hours to before the photos uploaded from the lander and back to Earth. I think this is due to the fact that the probe needs to recharge it's batteries (using its solar panels) before it can send the bulk of its photos. NASA said the photos will start arriving around Noon to 1:00 PM GMT (7 or 8 AM U.S. Eastern time), but if I understood them correctly, we may see one picture of the solar panels very soon after landing (so NASA can confirm the panels are deployed properly).

The exciting stuff won't be the pictures, however. The real cool science will be done for several days from now when the probe's shovel starts digging throug the soil and water-ice and the probe begins to analyze that soil and water. NASA picked that particular landing site because they are pretty sure water-ice exists there.

This will be the first time a Mars probe comes into physical contact with water (albeit in ice form) on Mars.

[edit on 5/25/2008 by Soylent Green Is People]

after Phoenix lands safely (4 more hrs), deploys the solar panels,
then starts its drilling/digging programs,

i just wonder if they'll be going down far enough?

if there were indigenous microbes there on Mars, they would have
most likely migrated deeper into the planet
to get what remained of the heat from a long ago hotter core...
since the heat trapping atmosphere was ripped away when the nearby 'Exploding Planet' (we currently know as asteroid belt)
deluged Mars with that watery planets' water and sealife/microbes.

will we be able to determine (if any former life remains are found),
If they evolved within a the Mars' former biosphere? Or did a Mars biosphere ever exist at all?

It's so great to have a site like ATS. I always read the news here. The link to NASA closed captioned live TV is broken but that's no problem cause I will know what's going on in here

Im very eager to see what's happening. I hope it lands successfully.

Hell yeah! I have nothing to do with this mission, but I feel so proud it's almost indecent! Wooho!

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
I don't think you understood ArMap's post...he didn't say that NASA will be slow with releasing information; he said that the really interesting science will be done with the next probe (The Mars Science Laboratory Rover) that is scheduled to land there in 2010.

Thanks for explaining it for me, that was really what I wanted to say.

It has landed but I think that they are still expecting the confirmation of the solar array deployment.

Hope some of you guys realize that Phoenix cannot directly detect life itself. It is there to detect the right conditions for life on mars, but not a microbe hunter like some people seem o think. Not sure when it starts digging either - according to nasa several days to a week i thinks!