Attached Link: Final wing of flight

If everything goes as planned, Phoenix  will race into the Martian atmosphere at almost 21,000 kilometers (12,750 miles) per hour just before 5 pm Pacific Daylight Time [just before 8 pm EDT] and triumph during the seven scariest minutes on the whole mission. 

The image is an artist rendition..  

I hope the mission is a success!!!

I'm watching this...got my fingers crossed.

Just came over the news lines, the Phoenix has successfully landed on Mars! (7:53 PM)

Sweet!! thanks for the update.

Weeeheee!  Great.  I hope we get to see this soon.

(BTW, how come this thread is so wide it's shooting off the side of my screen?  I thought that only happened when a long URL was posted?)

Cool!!

(I'm sure Bryster will be worried his property value may drop now) ;)

Attached Link: Phoenix home page...

**I'm sorry to say that after all that it landed in the wrong neighborhood and TheBryters' home could not be photo grafted...  **

ROTFLMAO!!!! SUCKERS!!!!
Right in the middle of the mine-field!!!

and I was worried it was going to be 'there goes the neighborhood'...;)

I think the colour filter dropped out of the camera and the Bryster's mega cattle seem to have escaped their pen, look you can see all their big footprints!

This mission cost $386 million, but what does the world get for that.....

 **1. To explore the Martian arctic soils for possible indicators of life, past or present.
**.... :lol:

2. To examine potential habitats for water ice.
.... Well if there was water, it's gonna take a mighty long pipe to get it back to earth.

3. To enhance our understanding of Martian atmospheric processes.
.... We don't even understand our own atmospheric processes.

**4. To measure volatiles, such as water and organic molecules in the northern polar region of Mars.
**.... And what advantage do we get from such info..... that could benefit mankind and/or make life better for those in suffering?

The next time, they should include a microphone on the explorer.  Then we could see what mars SOUNDS like.  It's got an atmosphere, who knows?  Maybe we'll learn something new.

Bryster, why'd you put in a minefield?  John Carter getting too crazy with those parties of his over in Barsoom?

.... And what advantage do we get from such info..... that could benefit mankind and/or make life better for those in suffering?

Ultimately.. we are learning who we are...     without this knowledge of who we are,  eternal peace can not be attained..  suffering is an outcome of being ignorant.... 

Learning that the earth was not flat brought us closer together...  our understanding of the divine is flat...  Finding life on another heavenly body might just break the old notions and challenge the chains that bind us in ignorance.... 

Besides, I would have liked to catch TheBryters taking a shower...  worth while $386M..

2. To examine potential habitats for water ice.
*.... Well if there was water, it's gonna take a mighty long pipe to get it back to earth.

Naah -- just pipe it over the edge. Gravity will make it fall to Earth, no problem...:-)
Cheers,
Diolma

With all due respect dhama, me thinks we should put things in proper perspective.

Check these sites out on how space exploration has benefited mankind many times over:

spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/benefits.php

www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9811/02/space.medical/index.html

*www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html

“And what advantage do we get from such info..... that could benefit mankind and/or make life better for those in suffering?”*

The list you offer is for the sake of setting up a Martian base…the Phoenix is the first of several in a Mars Scout program mission plan.

If you mean foreign aid and charity then you would be interested in knowing that the U.S. is most generously already doing that to the tune of billions of dollars annually.

If you mean for those right here in the U.S. then I recommend not giving foreign aid to uncooperative countries and help those in need here instead. Besides, The U.S. shouldn’t be in the business of creating welfare states in impoverish countries where their governments should be helping the people instead of themselves. Furthermore, the more we give in foreign aid and charity, the more it seems they hate us anyway…just my opinion.

Quote - This mission cost $386 million, but what does the world get for that.....

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
with the money spent on the war in Iraq, we could have put ONE THOUSAND of these types of landers on Mars.
I think that every single dollar spent on Mars exploration is nobly spent and would much rather see my tax dollars go to these types of exploratory missions...

Per capita income in Burundi. $100, Malawi $170, Rwanda $250, Nepal $290, Tajikistan $390. And there are 13 other countries on the list where the per capita income is less than $390.

The US war in Iraq, $4.5 Billion a month. OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT FIGURE, so it is probably more. How much different do you think life would be for the people in the countries listed and the others if this money was used to help them?  

NOTE:This is not a comment on the war, just an observation. This is an art forum, so I leave my politics at the door.

I think space exploration has its place....   It does give a good return in the short and long run... 

You never know if we find some new biological life that will enable us a way to cure diseases...

Well, What somebody can say if Colon( Columbus) or the Queen Elisabeth(Reina Isabel de castilla) said, well, many $ for an stupid travel to the unknow, better spend that money in make more...(put that you want). The man can and must to explore new worlds. there are many ways where you can save money, please , have a wide mind.

Attached Link: original size image...NASA..

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera acquired this image of Phoenix hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface. Shown here is a 10 kilometer (6 mile) diameter crater informally called "Heimdall," and an improved full-resolution image of the parachute and lander. Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) in front of the crater.

[quote
You never know if we find some new biological life that will enable us a way to cure diseases...

...or nasty bacteria perhaps? There are some things the human race is not ready for.... just my thoughts.

speaking of dreaded diseases from space... The Andromeda strain is on TV..... 

That is some awesome shot Tom. It is truly amazing! I started watching The Andromeda Strain last night but was disappointed that it’s being shown in 2 parts, tonight being the conclusion…I hate when they do that!

If I understand adh3d correctly and if I may paraphrase…he’s asking where would we be if Columbus or Queen Elizabeth of Spain had said that it was too expensive to take a trip into the unknown? let’s just reinvest our money in other things and make more money. At least this is the gist of what I make of it. Well said adh3d …if I do say so myself! ;D  

Strange how this thread has gone from a celebration of man’s quest for knowledge, man’s feat of ingenuity, man’s triumph in exploration to questioning the value of the benefits reaped by mankind, as if none existed, to further questioning the decision to appropriate funds for such an ill conceived endeavor to where it should be placed (er…my bank account perhaps) and coming around somehow to the Iraq war! And so I ask (facetiously)…what does the price of fish have to do with apples and oranges?

We can certainly go down the Iraq War avenue and hatch that out for a few dozen pages together with the cost of poverty, nuclear proliferation, terrorist sponsoring sovereignties, the UN and a host of other human inequities but this is not the place. And no doubt, any threads exhibiting such discussions or any such semblance of freedom of speech and banter will be categorically and without exceptions locked out from innocent preying eyes…but we’ll keep the nude Vicky’s ;)