Nine months after taking off from Earth, the spacecraft Phoenix Lander is all set to touch down on planet Mars. But while doing this successfully, the spacecraft must survive a sweltering and perilous descent in order to scoop up water ice that is believed to be buried under an arctic plain.  The spacecraft Phoenix Lander was launched on 4 August previous year and has traversed a distance of 422 million miles to reach its destination.

 

The Nasa owned Phoenix Lander aims to land on Mars on Sunday in an unexplored zone of the planet. But before that happens, the spacecraft must outlast what its creators term as ‘seven minutes of terror’ in order to touch the surface. Dr. Edward Weiler, associate administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration science division, agrees that there are many threats and uncertainties involved in the landing.  

 

Dr. Edward Weiler has informed that ever since the initiation of the planetary exploration, about 55 per cent of the spacecrafts dispatched to planet Mars have failed in their mission. The Phoenix lander happens to be an assembly of components taken from the earlier two unsuccessful missions, but they have been checked thoroughly. Dr. Weiler said that even then there is always the risk of the unknown.