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| Image above: A Delta II rocket lit up the early morning
sky over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it carried
the Phoenix spacecraft on the first leg of its journey to Mars. The
powerful three-stage rocket with nine solid rocket motors lifted off
at 5:26 a.m. EDT. Image Credit: NASA |
The Phoenix spacecract has separated from the Delta II rocket and ground
controllers at NASA's Deep Space Network have acquired its signal and
begun assessing its health.
The solar panels that will power the mission's cruise phase will be deployed
and Phoenix will be pointed to best receive solar power and communicate
with Earth.
The spacecraft has oriented itself to the sun as it was programmed to
do.
It will use solar panels to generate electricity during the nine-month
coast to Mars. A separate set of solar arrays is attached to the lander
itself.
The Phoenix Mars lander's assignment is to dig through the Martian soil
and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments
to analyze the samples it retrieves.
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