Mars Landing Today

I think many of you know how much I enjoy keeping up with the latest developments in space. Well, everybody keep your fingers crossed - they’re going to land another mission on Mars today. Here are some snippets from a press release from NASA:

May 25 arrival of Phoenix Mars Lander will be available on NASA Television and on the Web

Entry, descent and landing begins at 4:46 p.m. PDT on May 25, when the flight team listens for radio signals indicating that Phoenix has entered the top of the Martian atmosphere. The spacecraft must perform a series of challenging transformations and activities during the seven minutes after it enters the atmosphere to slow it from 12,000 mph to 5 mph and a soft touchdown. The Phoenix team will be watching for radio signals confirming the landing at 4:53 p.m. More than half of previous international attempts to land on Mars have been unsuccessful. For a detailed schedule and landing timeline, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

On landing day, May 25, live landing commentary will air on NASA TV. A telecast of mission control — without roll-in videos and interviews — will run on NASA TV’s Media Channel beginning at 3 p.m. Another telecast with commentary, interviews and videos will begin at 3:30 p.m. on NASA TV’s Public Channel. 

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules, and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

I’ll be watching! Will you?