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Mission record

Phoenix

Also known as Phoenix Mars Lander, PhoenixMarsLander

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

Phoenix launched on 04 August 2007 on a Delta II 7925 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and its 681 million km heliocentric cruise to Mars took approximately 10 months. At 1 km altitude the parachute was released and a powered descent and soft-landing was achieved using a pulsed propulsion system with 8 thrusters, which turned off when footpad sensors detected touchdown. The landing site is in the north polar region between 65 and 72 degrees N, a relatively boulder-free area with a high ratio of ice to rock. Communications were maintained through the relays on the orbiting Mars spacecraft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Express throughout the descent. As the summer ended the mission had less solar energy to operate and made its last transmission on 02 November 2008 before power was depleted.

Destinations
Launch vehicle
Delta II
Launch site
Cape Canaveral, United States
Countries
United States
Mission types
Lander

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Launched on a Delta II 7925

    Phoenix launched on 04 August 2007 at 09:26:34 UT (5:26 a.m. EDT) on a Delta II 7925 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and the launch/orbital information page gives the same instant as 2007-08-04T09:26:34Z with Launch Vehicle: Delta II. The committed vehicle string is the Facts in Brief one, Delta II, and the fuller Delta II 7925 the text prints is recorded here rather than in the field.

    Earth

  2. Landing

    Soft-landed in the north polar region

    Touchdown occurred at 23:53:44 UT (7:53:44 p.m. EDT) on 25 May. The landing site is in the north polar region between 65 and 72 degrees N, nominally at 68.15 N, 125.9 W, a relatively boulder-free area with a high (30-60%) ratio of ice to rock. Surface temperatures in this region range between about 190 and 260 K and the landing altitude is about 3.5 km below the planetary reference. The launch/orbital information page prints Decay Date: 2008-05-25, the same day.

    Mars

  3. Mission end

    Last transmission before power was depleted

    As the summer ended the mission had less solar energy to operate and made its last transmission on 02 November 2008 before power was depleted. Cost of the mission is estimated at $417 million.

    Mars

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Phoenix Mars Lander · Lander

    Destinations: Mars

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through September 2, 2026