The Phoenix Landing

Last night at 7:00 pm EST, I was watching the Discovery Channel as they were covering the landing of the Phoenix module on Mars. It turns out that the module successfully landed on its tripod legs and was in the process of expanded its solar panels before the live coverage ended.

The Phoenix module is a stationary project that landed close to the north pole on Mars. It will test the soil and atmosphere for traces of water in hopes of discovering life on another planet. The mission is planned to last nine months; after this time, the temperature will drop so low that the module will be encased in a meter of Martian ice (so they say) and will no longer be able to operate.

On board this module is a very sophisticated piece of Canadian developed technology. It's basically an advanced weather station that will be responsible for analyzing the atmosphere and sending the information back to Earth. Although I don't know the overall cost of the module, I do know that Canada has spent $37 million on the project. The costs of space projects have come under tight control. In the early years of space exploration, some projects would cost as much as $3 billion.
Feel free to share your thoughts about this incredible project.

Check out the website below for pictures and videos.
Phoenix Mars Mission Website

Oh yeah. I was watching CNN's coverage of the landing.

I wonder if the money could be better spent on projects that directly effect the well being of people on earth. To date I dont see any great reward for humanity except to add to my triva bank. How does that project enrich the lives of us here in Canada ... hell we dont even understand the ocean depths uet, let alone have any control over glonal warming.

Maddog, you're such a sourpuss.

Your right, it is a fact that we know more about space directly around us than the depths of our own oceans. However, I believe that the $37 million spent of developing the weather station on Phoenix could be beneficial to us here on Earth.

Just think that if we do discover traces of water/life on Mars; that means that life starting at least twice in our galaxy. Investigating into it further could help us understand how life was decimated and if Earth is on a similar path. Studying another planet that once had a sustainable source of life could perhaps help us understand our environmental flaws.

Personally I don't believe that we'll ever have control over the warming effect on our planet; there are just too many factors. I believe that global warming is a natural cycle that has occurred at least once already in our planet's lifetime; we're just speeding it up.

This is a highly controversial subject for people all around the world. I'll bet that Maddog's BS meter has just overheated.