Mission accomplished! Our latest mission to Mars, 422 million miles away, is a success. The Phoenix, a 7 foot by 18 foot three-legged spacecraft, landed on the red planet's surface yesterday just before 5pm. It’s been 296 days since Phoenix left earth at Cape Canaveral in Florida with their 420-million dollar Mars mission. Can you guess what was there? Rocks! But what's underneath these rocks is what scientists are hoping to uncover.
The Phoenix Lander touched down in the polar terrain, and will start to dig through that rough surface. JPL scientists hope that the spacecraft will find signs of a habitable zone, an area rich with organic materials and liquid. This could determine whether or not life ever existed on the planet, and whether humans could one day survive in the atmosphere.
While I was at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena yesterday, there were some extremely tense moments as the Phoenix entered the Martian atmosphere...going 12,000 mph. Barry Goldstein told me that there's a 50 percent chance that the spacecraft would make a successful landing due to the harsh atmospheric pressure on the red planet. So you can imagine the cheering once it touched down. This mission on Mars will last three months. If you're wondering about the possibility of humans heading to Mars, JPL says that historic trip could be another 10 to 15 years away.
You can check out my live report on KTLA.com.
