Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice

Saturday, May 24 at 4 p.m.

It’s a question that both intrigues and excites us … what if? Since our forebears first looked to the heavens, we’ve asked ourselves if there’s life “out there” — on any of the other planets in our galaxy or beyond. The University of Arizona’s Lunar & Planetary Laboratory has teamed with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the Canadian Space Agency and other scientific organizations from around the world to attempt to answer that age-old question. The project is chronicled in a thrilling high-definition documentary, Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice, airing Saturday, May 24 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and at 10 p.m. on WXXI-HD (cable 1011 and DT 21.1). NASA astronaut Mark E. Kelly narrates.

The historic mission is headed by the University of Arizona’s Peter Smith, who serves as the project’s principal investigator. The Phoenix Mars Mission, rising from the ashes of previous unsuccessful missions, blasted off to the Red Planet in August 2007. Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice follows the mission from its meticulous preparations through its spectacular pre-dawn launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The documentary crew, given unprecedented access to the scientific team throughout the early days of planning, chronicled the preparations and joined the excited crowd at the awe-inspiring liftoff. Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice features interviews with Smith as well as other key scientists who bring the mission to life as they discuss the spacecraft’s custom instruments and the intricate preparations that preceded the launch. The 800-pound, seven-foot-high lander is traveling 423 million miles at 74,000 miles per hour.

Touchdown on Mars is scheduled for May 25, 2008 (one day after the program airs). The lander will have about 90 days before the brutal Martian winter sets in to learn about the history of water on the planet and search for organic compounds in the ice-rich soil of Mars’ northern polar region. The lander will collect soil and ice samples to search for trace organics and for evidence of how water has changed the subsurface environment. The scientists hope to determine where the water on Mars went.

The $420 million mission is headquartered at the University of Arizona — the first time in NASA’s history that it has permitted a public university to have such off-site control of a Mars project.

The world eagerly awaits what the Mars lander can tell us about the history of the intriguing Red Planet.

For more information, visit http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

Pictured: Artist’s concept of the lander a moment before its May 2008 touchdown on Mars.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory