NASA spacecraft lands successfully on the red planet

A U.S. Space probe, NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, safely plunged on to the surface of the Red Planet Mars, where it is to dig the icy soil and collect samples of that to look for the evidence of building blocks of life.

Phoenix penetrated into the Martian atmosphere at more than 12000 mph after a 10 month, 422 million mile voyage through space.

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During the entire “seven minutes of terror” the Lander maintained a contact with the earth through the orbiting Mars Odyssey.

The atmosphere at U.S. Space agency NASA's Jet Propulsion laboratory in California changed with the receiving of data that assured a successful landing. The Engineers and Scientists became overwhelmed with joy as the first step of the “Mission Red Planet” proves victorious.

“The hardest part is over. There is still a lot of drama left,” said Barry Goldstein, the Mars Phoenix project manager. He further exclaimed “In my dreams it could not have gone as perfectly as it went. It went right down the middle.”

The purpose of the mission is to look for any evidence which can help generate life on Mars in future. The craft sent by NASA is supposed to dig up some ice samples from the polar regions of Mars to be brought back on Earth for further experimentations. The craft Phoenix was reportedly launched in august of last year and had to travel 679 million kilometres to reach the surface of the red planet.

NASA’s last attempt in 1999 to make a landing ended badly when another Polar Lander crashed into the South Pole region as it approached the surface. A dozen attempts have been made so far by different countries like Russia, Britain and United States but only US has tasted success in five times.