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Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 25 2008, 11:54 PM

Successful touchdown

Posted by: climber May 25 2008, 11:58 PM

Some peanuts left, anybody ?

Posted by: Nix May 25 2008, 11:59 PM

thank you Mars for letting this one pass through..

Posted by: nprev May 25 2008, 11:59 PM

We need an emoticon for tears of joy...wow, just wow is all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: ugordan May 25 2008, 11:59 PM

Absolutely awesome stuff, right by the book!

Did I hear correctly they're saying a quarter of a degree tilt?

Posted by: elakdawalla May 26 2008, 12:00 AM

yes, 1/4 degree

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 12:01 AM

Gonna go ahead and call that "flat", then.....

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 12:01 AM

Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never doubted it for a second!

Posted by: David S. May 26 2008, 12:01 AM

That was simply amazing, my first live landing on another planet

Those last seconds were scary, it went so fast i thought it was going too fast ! That was beautiful

Edit : no peanuts here, but i'm eating a Mars bar to celebrate this !

Posted by: Roby72 May 26 2008, 12:02 AM

I suspect the last 100m down were a little longer than in the EDL simulation, isn it ?

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 12:02 AM

I hear ya...I might have to make an appointment with a proctologist tomorrow...

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:03 AM

259 (!!!) online at UMSF

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:03 AM

I hope this is in the South direction

Posted by: SFJCody May 26 2008, 12:03 AM

Me too. Did I say 55%? Must have been a typo. I meant 100%.

Posted by: Dominik May 26 2008, 12:04 AM

273 Visitors now at UMSF ... WOW!

Posted by: Zvezdichko May 26 2008, 12:04 AM

God, can't believe it! I'm almost in tears!

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:05 AM

This implies a (probably) very flat landing site. Maybe similar to Doug's rendering?

Posted by: jamescanvin May 26 2008, 12:05 AM

Perfectly aligned East-West as well! Perfect!!!

Bed time for me, don't look at the pics till I get back in the morning!

James

Posted by: Decepticon May 26 2008, 12:06 AM

WOW! Im so happy. Drinking a beer to touchdown!

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:06 AM

Rui and I won the poll

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:07 AM

Bed time for me too in an hour or two - that is, if I'm able to fall to sleep. Will probably have to wake up in the middle of the night to check for any images .

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 12:08 AM

So glad it's afternoon here...don't think my pulse rate's gonna go down for a few hours yet...man!!!!!!

Posted by: ustrax May 26 2008, 12:08 AM

Never doubted it although I wiiwiied a lot...

A Fantastic time to be Alive!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ3u3fTG70Q

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:09 AM

"Solar arrays open" is listed as occurring at 00:06:33 ERT (UTC). Does anyone remember when confirmation that this worked is due?

Posted by: SpaceListener May 26 2008, 12:09 AM

Completely flat only landing site but still don't know how are they arounds!!!

Wait for few minutes for a possible transmission of pictures.

The solar panels will deploy a little after the touchdown. This pause allows the dust kicked up during the landing to settle and not collect on the arrays.

Posted by: pioneer May 26 2008, 12:10 AM

It landed at a 1/4 degree tilt

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:12 AM

Peter is talking about extended mission! Mood is high, very high.
What a thing it was to share this with you all.

Edited : a big thanks to administrators an a thought for Emily having her server down. I hope you enjoyed the landing anyway

Posted by: Gladstoner May 26 2008, 12:14 AM

I was reminded of this little gem (in case you haven't seen it yet):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Ie7i6vRUM

Posted by: Thu May 26 2008, 12:17 AM

Wonderful. Congratulations to the Phoenix team for bringing Mars closer to us

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn May 26 2008, 12:21 AM

Wish they'd give us some comments from Rob Manning.

TTT

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 12:21 AM

Amazing how that tension and anxiety quite literally drains away when you hear "TOUCHDOWN"

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 12:21 AM

Someone remind me now, when can we possibly expect images?

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 12:21 AM

My guess would be during the Mars Odyssey relay that begins about 01:43UTC....

Posted by: TheChemist May 26 2008, 12:22 AM

What a glorious night !
Shall we get solar panel confirmation any minute now ?

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 12:23 AM

Little shy of 90 min from now, Dan.

Posted by: belleraphon1 May 26 2008, 12:23 AM

I believe it and I am in tears.... happens everytime...

WOW... those last few minutes went like seconds!!!!! to me... could hardly keep up on my checklist....

Can't wait for those first thumbnail pics.... remember MER??? This should be very flat (so few rocks, Doug????? ) but just to see those solar arrays fanned out will be beautiful.....

now for that shot of Jack... CHEERS!!!!!

Craig

Posted by: Sym05 May 26 2008, 12:24 AM

Post landing poll delayed 10 minutes.

Posted by: fredk May 26 2008, 12:24 AM

I second climber's comments - kudos to the UMSF team for letting us share this! The site worked smoothly right through landing. And thanks to dmuller for the great simulation.

Oh yeah, and, according to my formula, Mars currently occupies 180 degrees from the viewpoint of Phoenix!

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 12:26 AM

Fantastic evening everyone, just fantastic... and what a BRILLIANT way of experiencing it with everyone here!

No WAY I'm going to bed before seeing those first pictures...

Posted by: SFJCody May 26 2008, 12:26 AM

I wont be able to sleep anyway. Have to see those pics...

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:26 AM

This is an unMANNINGspaceflight

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:26 AM

Then I'll delay going to sleep until then (I wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway ).

The first powered landing on Mars for 32 years. That's a lot of time.

Posted by: SFJCody May 26 2008, 12:28 AM

And next time... a completely new system for powered descent... SKYCRANE

Posted by: paxdan May 26 2008, 12:28 AM

except for the RADs on on pathfinder and MER

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 12:28 AM

Yes - I can attest to the 32 year time span, having been at JPL for the Viking 2 landing...

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:30 AM

This give good mood for skycrane.
1- they'll do a lot of studies since this will be THE futur landing system
2- Only the last meters will change as compared to full powered descent

Posted by: Julius May 26 2008, 12:31 AM

Congrats to the Phoenix team!Great job guys!

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 12:32 AM

And I remember following the Viking mission as a child. No live coverage back then, at least not where I live. Now I get to see everything live. How things have changed...

Posted by: Steve G May 26 2008, 12:32 AM

I had to switched from Discovery Channel to my computer to watch NASA TV to rid myself of their commentary! A lot more exciting on NASA TV!

I'm still quite emotional. Landing on an alien world does that to the soul.

Posted by: akuo May 26 2008, 12:36 AM

Woohoo! Wonderful! Can't believe how happy these moments are.

Has somebody already put the last few minutes on youtube so we can relive those wonderful moments of telemetry-bliss!

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 12:37 AM

I'm working late tonight at the moment, deadline next morning, so it's perfect for waiting for those first few pics
The first views from an alien landscape, so incredibly far and yet now so close

Very emotional landing, specially doing it live here with all of you.

Many Congrats for the Pheonix team, thanks so much for sharing your vision with all of us.

Spirit and Oppy have company!

Posted by: centsworth_II May 26 2008, 12:37 AM

Maybe during the checkoff in five minutes power production will indicate the state of the panels.
Don't know if it will be clearly stated at that time, but surely the first pictures to come down in a little over an hour will show the panels in all their glory!

Posted by: Leither May 26 2008, 12:37 AM

Emily has taken her laptop into the press briefing - see her Ustream. Sounding good.

Posted by: Sym05 May 26 2008, 12:37 AM

I recorded the NASA TV windows media stream during EDL. About 70 MB. I'm trying to upload on youtube...

Posted by: JRehling May 26 2008, 12:38 AM

I think my two quickest streams of information were National Geographic and hardcover books.

But by Pioneer Venus I'd started to make use of the small-town newspaper.

And after Voyager at Jupiter, Science News.

Galileo's arrival was when I joined the world of "real time".

Seems like we're at the end of that evolution now. We could only cut seconds off.

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 12:40 AM

Someone please add a link to Emily's Ustream, can't get through to Planetary Society blog

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn May 26 2008, 12:41 AM

My mistake. An off-hand comment by Doug led me to think that Rob was part of the Phoenix EDL team, but maybe he was just part of a review panel. But Rob always has something interesting to say.

>>I'm not giving Rob the questions till after Phoenix is away smile.gif
>>I'm not going to get the blame if Phoenix has EDL issues

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 12:42 AM

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emily-lakdawalla

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 12:42 AM

Thanks!!

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:47 AM

Link to Emily's ustream, PM are live there

Posted by: Leither May 26 2008, 12:53 AM

This is Emily's best ever - an informal press briefing, look how relaxed those guys are.

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:53 AM

Everything looks nominal. Only parachutte deployed 7 second late which support we'll have landed long.

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 12:56 AM

Venting HAS taken place !

Posted by: Decepticon May 26 2008, 01:01 AM

HI Emily!

Love those updates!

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 01:02 AM

UMSF has been abandoned

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 01:03 AM

Not quite, Sir, not quite

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 01:03 AM

No, it hasn't, everyone's just flipping between about ten diff sites

Posted by: TheChemist May 26 2008, 01:04 AM

Ustream was cool, thanks Emily !

I have to be at work in 4 hours ... mmm.. Should I stay or should I go ? (to sleep, that is) :-)

Posted by: belleraphon1 May 26 2008, 01:04 AM

Trying to catch the comments in mission control....

Parachute deploy 7 seconds late.... they were a little long on landing... helium venting was succwessful... that is what I have gotten so far....

Craig

Posted by: Decepticon May 26 2008, 01:05 AM

Are there any GOOD streaming sites (any commentary or LIVE interviews ) the more windows I got open the better!

I got 5 open now!

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 01:08 AM

They've retreived data and they are processing BUT I didn't get what they are talking about

Posted by: belleraphon1 May 26 2008, 01:11 AM

Believe they are talking about the MEX data...

Craig

Posted by: imipak May 26 2008, 01:18 AM

The s:n ratio - or rather the signal:troll/griefer ratio - here, vs ustream, vs IRC was interesting.

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 01:21 AM

When is MRO likely to return the image obtained during the descent? I guess it's not really a high priority right now?

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 01:23 AM

Emily said MRO will attempt to get a picture of Phoenix tomorrow! We should have one on friday if not succesfull. Whoua

Posted by: Norm Hartnett May 26 2008, 01:23 AM

Does anyone know if NASA TV/PAO is switching over to surface operations at UA?

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 01:25 AM

UH OH... that nervousness is starting to return... lets hope all the POST landing events have been completed successfully.

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 01:32 AM

NASA TV Live coverage is back

Posted by: Leither May 26 2008, 01:32 AM

Nasa TV starting up again - but they can't have pics yet.

Posted by: mars loon May 26 2008, 01:35 AM

Peter Smith is on Live now on NASA TV

he is talking surface operations "They are ready to go. We will analyze from surface down to ice layer""

First few hours are all preprogrammed. We willl take pictures of solar arrays first. they lander foot . then lander horizon"

New Data/Images expected in a few minutes

Posted by: Norm Hartnett May 26 2008, 01:37 AM

Looks like they are going to cover surface ops from EDL/JPL. At least for the first pictures which is all PAO will cover.

Hopefully UA will do as good as or better job than the MER folks have done.

Posted by: kwan3217 May 26 2008, 01:38 AM

Did anyone catch the preliminary lat/lon they just said on NasaTV?

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 01:41 AM

I wondering whether Rui survive the landing! He's nowhere to be seen.

Posted by: mhoward May 26 2008, 01:42 AM

http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/status.html is reporting "68.22 degrees latitude and 234.3 degrees longitude".

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 01:42 AM

The landing point appears to be 68.22 degrees latitude and 234.3 degrees longitude.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/status.html

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 01:44 AM

Waiting downlink

Posted by: Shaka May 26 2008, 01:46 AM

Finally hugged the wrong guy.

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 01:49 AM

Odissey is transmiting data

Maybe Rui had a few SuperBock too many

Posted by: deglr6328 May 26 2008, 01:50 AM

WOW I've never seen this many people here before! What a great night! I was actually with my family during landing 'cuz we were having a birthday party. I was watching live on the science channel when at T-5 minutes to landing my grandma was like "ok time for cake! *clicks TV off*" I was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!". I don't think I've ever ran for the TV remote so fast in my life!

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 01:53 AM

Power positive so the solar arrays appear to have deployed!

Posted by: mars loon May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

1st picture down. solar array deployed !!

lander leg , plus horizon too

wow !!!

Posted by: Norm Hartnett May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

Looks like Doug nailed it!

Pictures posted in UA Gallery http://fawkes1.lpl.arizona.edu/gallery.php

Posted by: The Singing Badger May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

PICTURE!!!!!!!

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

Did I see a solar panel image?

Posted by: volcanopele May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

Wow, that's flat!

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 01:55 AM

Holy cow look at those pictures! Doug was right, (except for the small rocks)!!!

Posted by: John Flushing May 26 2008, 01:56 AM

I just saw a picture of the foot of the landing craft.

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 01:56 AM

"So few rocks" (as far as I can tell from the images on NASA TV).

Posted by: Rakhir May 26 2008, 01:56 AM

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=0&cID=7

Posted by: volcanopele May 26 2008, 01:56 AM

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_309.jpg

Posted by: John Flushing May 26 2008, 01:57 AM

I see the solar arrays have deployed!

Posted by: Leither May 26 2008, 01:57 AM

Those are just beautiful - so, so good. I want more!

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 01:59 AM

Posted by: Tom Tamlyn May 26 2008, 02:00 AM

Did I see hexagonal patterns on the landscape?

Posted by: helvick May 26 2008, 02:01 AM

Kudos to the team for releasing images this rapidly - they are up on the web site as fast as I'm seeing them come in over NASA TV.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 02:01 AM

Note the object on the horizon. Large rock? or backshell?

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 02:02 AM

I was really impressed -- I had the UofAZ site up and, within just a few seconds of when the images started to show up on NASA TV, they started populating on the Images from the Lander page.

I'm really happy right now...

-the other Doug

Posted by: Stephen May 26 2008, 02:04 AM

It's great to see Phoenix safely on Mars!

(BTW, having it down and with all systems apparently healthy means that for the first time ever there will be three functioning landers on Mars.)

======
Stephen

Posted by: SpaceListener May 26 2008, 02:04 AM

Even faster in posting pictures from Mars in less than two hours!!! a Record!

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 02:04 AM

I remember some of the team wanting a few rocks for some science purposes. Better luck in the panoramic view... It certainly does look like a barren area.

Posted by: kwan3217 May 26 2008, 02:05 AM

Congrats to the Ops guys for getting the images out the door this quickly! lg_318.jpg wasn't on the ground for more than a minute before it was live on the net.

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 02:06 AM

One of the footpad images has a relatively bright spot above that is still in shadow. Could this be exposed ice?

Posted by: Thu May 26 2008, 02:06 AM

Large rock, I suppose. This one should be around several feet tall.
Btw, anybody knows when the first panorama picture will be beamed back?

Posted by: kwan3217 May 26 2008, 02:07 AM

lg_320.jpg? Looks to me like its a "hole" in the lander shadow, like there is a triangluar hole in the spacecraft over the leg or something like that.

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 02:07 AM

Oh wow, look at that... lots of little pebbles to cast shadows in the slanting sunlight.... an intriguing "something" on the horizon... features on the ground... Flat? Maybe. Dull? Absolutely not!

Triumph for everyone concerned. What a fantastic night!

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 02:08 AM

I think that's just a little spot that's not in shadow. Take a look at the large version:

http://fawkes1.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_320.jpg

It looks just like the sunlit part on the left.

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 02:08 AM

If they could get these 6 images back so fast, well, it might be soon indeed. Hmmm... Still, I'm guessing about 10 hours...

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 02:09 AM

Yes, thanks. The higher resolution of the on-line image supports your interpretation nicely.

Posted by: kwan3217 May 26 2008, 02:09 AM

They are already getting part of a panorama back, look at lg_331.jpg. The bottom of it looks to be at -30deg, about 4m away, still out of reach of the arm.

Posted by: volcanopele May 26 2008, 02:10 AM

Holy simoleon!

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_331.jpg

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 02:11 AM

Wow, that was fast . I now have all of these images on my computer and now that the excitement is finally over I'm starting to feel the effects of the fact that it's 02:15am where I live .

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 02:11 AM

Looks like they're working on it already!:

http://fawkes1.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_331.jpg

Posted by: alan May 26 2008, 02:12 AM

in stereo

Posted by: Pavel May 26 2008, 02:12 AM

We have three working probes on the surface of Mars at the same time. That's something even the designers of those probes didn't expect!

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 02:12 AM

Oops, even more images. Looks like I won't be able to go to sleep any time soon .

Posted by: simonbp May 26 2008, 02:13 AM

Look at how rounded those embedded cobble-sized rocks are (in the footpad images); presumably glacial drop stones?

Simon

Posted by: tanjent May 26 2008, 02:14 AM

Need advice on how to download and save the images. Everything seems to be in Flash Player mode. Is anybody getting jpg's or some other non-proprietary format?

Posted by: Thu May 26 2008, 02:14 AM

The scene looks pretty muck like Doug Ellison's imagination. I wonder if he's ever been there

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 02:14 AM

Well it looks like we are sitting on top of some nice polygons. Should be interesting.

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 02:15 AM

More panorama work:

http://fawkes1.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_334.jpg

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 02:16 AM

Look at that...

http://fawkes1.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_346.jpg

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 02:17 AM

Suh-WEEET!!!! I KNEW there'd be lotsa little cracks...there's a <clink>load of ice not far below!!!!

Posted by: Leither May 26 2008, 02:18 AM

Wow that really shows their shape. Did I hear someone say each is about as big as Phoenix ~5ft across

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 02:18 AM

Press briefing coming up on NASA TV

Posted by: kungpostyle May 26 2008, 02:19 AM

What is that?

Posted by: Reed May 26 2008, 02:19 AM

There's a list of download options on the lower right side of the flash viewer thing. Make sure it isn't being blocked by a popup blocker.

Posted by: Bjorn Jonsson May 26 2008, 02:20 AM

This terrain looks rather familiar. There's a lot of fairly (or possibly very) similar terrain here in Iceland, except that it's not that flat all the way to the horizon. I need to dig up a comparison picture.

Posted by: SpaceListener May 26 2008, 02:21 AM

Otherwise you can save them from http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/images/lg_338.jpg

Posted by: Sunspot May 26 2008, 02:21 AM

Immediately, or in a short while? It's already 3.25am here lol

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 02:21 AM

Good grief...237 users active on the forum...is this a record?

Posted by: antipode May 26 2008, 02:22 AM

Interesting bright feature in front of a small mound on the horizon in the right hand part of 346.jpg. A sunlit rock I suppose.

P

Posted by: Ant103 May 26 2008, 02:22 AM

Kungpost' : maybe the backshell? or the heatshield? Or maybe an artefact?

Posted by: SpaceListener May 26 2008, 02:23 AM

The surface is combed by the pulse thrusters toward away. I seem!! What do you see?

Posted by: climber May 26 2008, 02:24 AM

I'd go for ice.

Agree

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 02:24 AM

If I caught it right it would be in an hour and 35 minutes from now... or 0400UTC.

Posted by: helvick May 26 2008, 02:26 AM

We had 279 active users at the end of EDL which is as high as I saw it but it might have nudged up a few more. Whatever the absolute number is this is the busiest UMSF has ever been while I've been watching and Doug's new server and host have both held up to the task.

Posted by: imipak May 26 2008, 02:26 AM

Looks like absolutely textbook polygonal frost heave - hopefully that means the ice will be at the depth expected. My wild-eyed speculation about landing at a tilt wasn't completely hatstand, after all, I think - it looks like there's (?) 30 - 50cm vertical relief in places.

And how's about that for fast image release? ESA eat your heart out... that is how tax-funded space science outreach should be done.

edit: yes, definite thruster exhaust effects; it looks like you could get down to ice by scrubbing with a stiff broom.

Posted by: Ant103 May 26 2008, 02:26 AM

About gallery, are they expected to make a better, more easyer? Because it's not very simple to distinguish camera, filters, etc.

Posted by: kungpostyle May 26 2008, 02:26 AM

Yeah, most likely part of the ship cast off during EDL. or a compression artifact. It would be cool if was a piece of ice

Posted by: Stu May 26 2008, 02:27 AM

Posted by: antipode May 26 2008, 02:28 AM

No idea what the azimuth of 334 is but the twin bumps almost look like a crater on the horizon. Extreme enlargement of the white feature brings lots of artifacting but it sure looks odd - the backshell I guess???

P

Posted by: algorimancer May 26 2008, 02:31 AM

Hopefully there will be a place to access the raw images... that flash interface is pretty awful. Half the time (more?) I click on an image and get nothing. I suppose this could be due to the heavy usage at the moment. Really need images with useful titles.

Posted by: Gonzz May 26 2008, 02:32 AM

Now that we are safe on Mars, and the late night quietly lingers, this is the music that comes to my mind,
as I watch these pictures from this desolate beautiful barren landscape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHTFmJk7fH0

A nice lullaby for all of us that, now the images have arrived, are going to bed for a well deserved rest

Sleep well Pheonix

Posted by: SpaceListener May 26 2008, 02:33 AM

The same to me. The flash copy only works when the picture has enough illumination. The ones dark, aren't showed up.

Posted by: Juramike May 26 2008, 02:33 AM

Absolutely beautiful!

It looks like the terrain they landed in is nice and uniform. Representatives of all the elements that they see (so far) stretching out to the horizon ad infinitum should oughta be within the work volume.

Congratulations for a perfect landing, and massive thanks for getting the images put up on the web so quickly!

It's a total rush to have the near instant gratification of EDL and the first pictues post-landing within a few hours.

Perfect!

Posted by: Eric Hartwell May 26 2008, 02:34 AM

Those images that look mostly black with a tiny bit of white - auto mosaics! How about that.

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 02:35 AM

Yeah, except the server's having problems now that people are trying to download them!

Posted by: imipak May 26 2008, 02:35 AM

Fascinating and spectacular. Look at the texture of the pyramid shaped rock at half-way up to the left of the pad. Are those tiny pyramid shapes on the upper, sunlit plane part of the surface of the rock, or fragments that have frozen to the parent? If the former, that'll be what CO2 frost exfoliation looks like, will it?

Posted by: antipode May 26 2008, 02:37 AM

Had the nutty idea that that white thing might be penitent ice - but thats probably very silly so I'll shut up and enjoy the view. A quiet landscape FULL of interest, and probably surprises when we get a 360 pan! Congrats to all!

p

Posted by: Ant103 May 26 2008, 02:46 AM

Very very very very very very very approximative false color pic from 2 pic (IR and blue filters?).

Posted by: Ant103 May 26 2008, 02:49 AM

And a more "natural" touss tous pic :

So, time to go bed .

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 02:53 AM

You might look at the MRO pictures of the area for colors. All of the phoenix landing pictures look pretty much the same, and there are plenty of color images.

Posted by: mhoward May 26 2008, 02:55 AM

Well there's sort of a start http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/raw/SSI/ssi_gallery_collection_archive_1.html - at least the images have the correct filenames. Unfortunately they seem to be following the Cassini model for their web-based image releases, technically speaking. But let's not complain (yet), it's a magic night.

Posted by: Shaka May 26 2008, 02:57 AM

O.K. Put the peanuts back in the cupboard, and let's do science!

This surface has accumulated a lot of rubble. It's poorly sorted and angular. I assume most of it is distal impact ejecta (where is the nearest young crater?), with a small proportion of meteorites. This probably wouldn't have landed here overnight. Ergo, this is not a very young surface. The rubble reminds me of the exposures north of Victoria Crater down in the spaces between dunes. So what's happening here? Rockhounds?

Edit: So does Alan get credit for the first UMSF processed image (the 3D) from Phoenix Station? Bravo!

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 03:00 AM

The landing site location is being reported (per Emily) as 68.22 north, 234.3 east, and they're calling it long, but it seems to be almost smack dab in the middle of the landing ellipse in http://www.planetary.org/image/phoenix_landing_site_usgs_map_ellipse_shifted.jpg.

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 03:03 AM

I have reason to suspect those landing figures are a bit off. It seems slightly more to the north, and alot more to the east. 68.5N 233.3 E is what I've seen.


(Correction, I've seen better numbers, that match much better the numbers Emily provided. Still, it is off of on the left side of the landing ellipse in http://planetary.org/blog/article/00001431/ )

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 03:31 AM

I dunno. I mentioned mine dumps on another thread, and they sure look like this in Butte, MT: no coherent pattern in rock shapes, lots of deposition of same on or near frost heave lines (it gets VERY cold there in the winter, and unexpectedly warm in the summer). I'd say that a lot of the rocks we see are being excavated by frost heaves over time.

Posted by: ToSeek May 26 2008, 03:33 AM

It's been pointed out to me on another forum that there's a more up-to-date http://www.planetary.org/image/phoenix_landing_site_usgs_map_saturday.jpg, and that the location is indeed long on this ellipse. (Maybe they should have stuck with the old one!)

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:34 AM

Anybody have any ideas as to why the background behind one of the solar arrays appears to be completely black? Nothing, including the sky, ought to be completely black up there right now...

-the other Doug

Posted by: fredk May 26 2008, 03:37 AM

It's just because they're shooting more or less into the low polar sun, and the bright sky is reflecting in the arrays and so they used a very short exposure.

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 03:37 AM

It's not completely black (I'm assuming you mean image SOL0 281477120), but rather, very dark. I'm guessing that the surface there has a big spacecraft between it and the sun, causing it to be very dark.

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:40 AM

Yeah, my only thought was that it must be looking past the solar panel into Phoenix's own shadow. But I downloaded the picture and blew it up, and saw no detail in the black area at all, which I didn't expect.

Still -- lots of reflected light plus the shadow is the only explanation that makes sense, I think.

-the other Doug

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 03:42 AM

Besides being a powered landing, one might note another similarity with Viking 2, that being polygonal terrain. A quick check shows this reference that delves into the causes of this in the case of Viking. Mostly it's more the larger scale polygons that are discussed however.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/7thmars2007/pdf/3322.pdf

It seems the lander site-scale polygons may share a similar ice related cause at both sites, while the large-scale polygons at Utopia Planitia would have a different cause.

Steve

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 03:44 AM

Which image are you referring to? Just want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:49 AM

This is one of them, tuvas:

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/gallery/lg_369.jpg

-the other Doug

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 03:51 AM

Odd... I clearly see quite a few rocks in the image, although very dark...

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:53 AM

The last press briefing of the day, which I had thought was scheduled for 4:30am UT, seems to have been moved back up to 4am UT (9pm PDT, 11pm my time, CDT, and 12 midnight EDT). About eight minutes from now.

-the other Doug

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:54 AM

Might just be my tired old eyes, LOL... I looked hard and saw nothing in the background.

Ought to load it up in something that lets me tweak up brightness and contrast.

-the other Doug

Posted by: PDP8E May 26 2008, 03:54 AM

nick,
the rubble on the ground 'reminds' me of the uncountable rocks that surface in my garden every spring as the freezing and thawing pushes them up to the surface (New England)

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 03:57 AM

Yep -- just loaded up that solar panel image in a quick-and-dirty tool that let me boost the brightness, and sure enough, a little field of pebbles appeared in the background.

-the other Doug

Posted by: tuvas May 26 2008, 04:01 AM

Oh good. I guess I have my brightness set well enough on my computer.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 04:05 AM

Nice shot of Emily in the audience of the Presser

Posted by: dvandorn May 26 2008, 04:07 AM

You beat me to that by about a minute there, Dan. She looked tired but happy.

-the other Doug

Posted by: Thu May 26 2008, 04:16 AM

I'm enjoying the first quick-and-dirty color image from Phoenix by Emily posted on TPS blog. Thank you for all your hard work.

Posted by: kungpostyle May 26 2008, 04:37 AM

I just remembered that my name is on that lander.

Forgot about that, thanks planetary society!

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 04:53 AM

Precisely; I'm gonna go out on a limb & propose that the same mechanism is at work here.

Dan: Yeah, saw Emily out there; man, she really did right by us!!! Truly aces in my book, and should be so for every other UMSFer.

The streaming feed from NASA TV went crappy over the last few minutes, missing damn near all the Q&A here.

Posted by: n1ckdrake May 26 2008, 04:53 AM

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 04:55 AM

I'm capturing it on my sat box. Remind me later and I'll try and make a copy for you if they don't archive it.

Posted by: ElkGroveDan May 26 2008, 04:57 AM

Great work n1ck. That white object cannot be natural.

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 05:00 AM

I did catch that question in the presser; nobody wants to hazard a guess about that thing yet. Understandable...but, yeah, gotta be EDL hardware, obviously.

In fact, the 'lens flare' is almost identical to the spec reflection that Oppy's backshell produced at certain angles, and IIRC Phoenix uses identical CCDs. That's pretty much a smoking gun.

Posted by: slinted May 26 2008, 05:01 AM

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_002249_2485 is centered almost perfectly on the 68.22 lat, 234.3 lon location given in the press conference.

Posted by: Norm Hartnett May 26 2008, 05:01 AM

I'm going with Dr. Griffin on that one. Clearly a polar bear.

Posted by: nprev May 26 2008, 05:04 AM

...he's gonna have to walk a LONG way before he finds a seal, then!

Posted by: fredk May 26 2008, 05:18 AM

Some colour shots posted on the spaceflightnow site:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/images/color1.jpg
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/images/color2.jpg

Posted by: Reed May 26 2008, 05:20 AM

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_006996_2480 may also cover the landing area

Posted by: Bobby May 26 2008, 06:07 AM

When is Tesheiner going to start a Phoenix Route Map???

LOL &

Posted by: remcook May 26 2008, 07:18 AM

woohoo! amazing stuff! looking forward to the days to come

Posted by: Gladstoner May 26 2008, 07:34 AM

The seals are under the ice.

Posted by: PhilCo126 May 26 2008, 07:49 AM

Congrats to all at JPL and the University of Arizona...
A great job by UMSF.com with a server ready for this occasion!

Posted by: As old as Voyager May 26 2008, 08:18 AM

Congratulations Phoenix and JPL! Great landing and a great experience last night.

Never seen UMSF with so many users!

Posted by: Ian R May 26 2008, 08:21 AM

I'd also like to add my voice to those who have been congratulating NASA and JPL for last night's wonderful achievement.

Posted by: kenny May 26 2008, 08:32 AM

Likewise, many congratulations are due on a truly brilliant recovery from the previous debacle...
which left us wondering about the risks of attempting a non-airbag landing.

Regarding the sparkly object on the horizon, recall that the interior of the backshell is very shiny silvery material (if the same as the Rovers') and those backshells both became inverted on impact, which made them so bright and caused long streaks of camera artifacts similar to what we see here.

Also, given the flat unobstructed terrian, I'll be surprised if the parachute isn't lying visible somewhere on the other side of the spacecraft, currently out of view....

Posted by: Decepticon May 26 2008, 09:25 AM

Where can I get a model like the one shown at the press conference?

Posted by: FIN Mars May 26 2008, 11:46 AM

Great!

btw, there is a light near horizon at one of the pictures? Could it be a headshield or parachute?

http://www.space.fmi.fi/phoenix/ < I'm very happy becouse this is the first time when something from finland goes succesfully to groud of the Mars

Posted by: Bill Harris May 26 2008, 01:21 PM

I'd guess that we're seeing frost heave, plus wind deflation, plus ejecta from the crater to the east. Some pebbles look angular and some rounded. The frost polygons are reminescent of parts of Meridiani, no? Different origin, similar erosional processes.

--Bill

Posted by: imipak May 26 2008, 01:41 PM

It does look reminiscent of the etched terrain, but I think the scales are different. This is flatter than Meridiani, and the vertical relief of each polygon looks pretty invariant. So what appears to be a sea of dune crests are really the darker sides of the polygons. My estimate last night of 30-50cm height looks to be a 10x over-estimate in the cold light of, er, early afternoon. I can't wait for anaglyphs showing the arm out, to provide scale. As to erosional processes - no, I don't think there's CO2 frost cracking / exfoliation at Meridiani, just aeolian erosion caused by slow moving airborne fines and saltation.

The darker fine material along the edges of the polygons where they slope downwards towards the "cracks", has a crust-like appearance in places. Presumably that's fine dust eroded from the pebbles, and it's preferentially sorted onto the sides of the "valleys" by wind (?)

I have to say I'm quite happy Teshiener won't have to make route maps by deciphering which nearly identical dune we're parked next to today... that whole slog down to Erebus and Beagle was purgatory to me

Posted by: Rxke May 26 2008, 01:53 PM

Belated congrats to all the nice people who made this landing a success.

Posted by: scalbers May 26 2008, 03:20 PM

In post #173 I also started to consider a comparison of polygons at the Phoenix site and Utopia Planatia (latitude 48N) for Viking 2.