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Phoenix Mars Polar Lander Website Launched

ciph3r writes "The Phoenix Mars Polar Lander mission has just launched their public website. '[The] mission is to land in the northern polar region of Mars (about 70 N latitude) in May 2008 and to expose the upper few feet of surface material using a robotic arm to find the ice that was discovered by the Odyssey mission in 2002. The history of this ice and its interaction with the martian atmosphere will be studied throughout the 3-month primary mission. This ice-rich soil may be one of the few habitable environments on Mars where a biological system can survive.'"

10 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Phoenix, Mars? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Nah! Phoenix is in Arizona. Sure, Sedona is famous for its red rocks, but it's not Mars!

  2. Re:The Aliens. by Bunbunbun · · Score: 1, Funny

    They're too busy hiding the weapons of mass destruction

  3. The Mission Logo by nxtr · · Score: 5, Funny

    It looks like they took the Twirl filter to the Firefox logo in Photoshop.

  4. about time? by mattthateeguy · · Score: 3, Funny

    I was wondering when they were going to send (another) spacecraft to Mars. I mean our current one(s) have been there for only 11 months.

  5. Camera Control Applet by s-orbital · · Score: 2, Funny

    They should add an applet that lets you control the camera on the space craft! Just think of the media exposure NASA would get!

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    Patent: from Latin patere, to be open
    1. Re:Camera Control Applet by LucidBeast · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, there is a guy in Colorado that can help them setup that sort of thing. Maybe control the lights on the landing craft.

  6. Mars Polar Lander Changes Name by PornMaster · · Score: 3, Funny

    After being sued by the company which makes the Phoenix BIOS, getting heckled by the Firebird project, and not being able to afford to take out an ad in the New York times proclaiming itself FireFox, has settled upon CowPoop.

  7. Pschedelic by saltydogdesign · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think the logo was done by the guy that used to do all the Led Zeppelin album covers.

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    // This is not a sig.
  8. Beowulf Cluster of Landers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    What are you suggesting?... Beowulf cluster of landers?

    -AC

  9. Re:I wonder ??? by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 3, Funny

    Lets get this straight...

    I'm not sure whether you personally are advocating this approach, but I have seen plenty of other posts here that do specifically support the idea, and even a few volunteers. To you and all of those others, I ask have you lost your ever loving minds?

    You are talking about sacrificing a human life in exchange for a few months of scientific data. Heres a news flash for you, the whole of mars for the rest of its natural existence, and for that matter the whole of the sterile solar planetary system, isn't worth the cost of one human life. If it was a choice between seeing it all turned to rubble and saving a single person, I would not hesitate for a heartbeat to push the button and consign the dust to the solar winds.

    You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

    I have plenty of mod points here, but I felt it was more constructive to reply rather than modding this post into oblivion...