Briefing underway.
- Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters
- Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson
- Ray Arvidson, Phoenix landing site working group chairman, Washington University in St. Louis
- Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
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It's not a trip to grandma's house. But, we're driving grandma's car.
Before: Follow the water.
Now: Touch the water.
Associated image materials
They lose comm (with overhead satellite) about 1 minute after touchdown. Solar panels deploy 15 minutes after touchdown, to let dust settle. Next comm is about an hour after touchdown, so it will be some time before panel deployment is confirmed.
Barry Goldstein, I think, commented that there is 3 seconds of data he really sweats, the entry/descent/landing status communication burst to one of the overhead satellites (MRO, I think). Even should Phoenix fail, perhaps especially if Phoenix fails, that data is valuable for the lessons it would teach.
Those people are smart. The sample analyzer feed is exposed during landing, so dust may settle into it. If the arm never works, at least they'll probably have a little dust to look at.
Session now ended after 65 minutes.