For Memorial Day 2008 — We Wander, Off-Topic, and Off-Planet. . . .

[When we go “off-topic” for this blog — we go way off — (“nothing exceeds, like excess,” eh?) — off the planet, even.]

Tonight, NASA celebrated a resounding success — around 8 p.m. EDT, the Phoenix Mars lander touched-down, softly, near the Martian Northern-polar-cap — and radioed home — to say it was safe, and sound. [You may access updates on the Phoenix mission’s progress, via this NASA page — the first images are already coming online, after being uploaded from. . . . the Martian Artic, tonight — how cool is that? See one, below the video-feed.]

This flawless touch-down opens the most exciting part of a NASA mission to analyze the known deposits of water-ice there, and correlatively, engage in a preliminary search for any remaining evidence of long-lost, likely-long-gone, and long-extinct simple, primordial life — from millions and millions of years past, on Mars. That long ago evidence — if it ever existed, at all — might possibly take the form of specific chemical traces — still there, in the soil, or in the ice, all for Phoenix to sleuth out. So, I’ll offer this 60 second animation celebration, edited from a much longer, more tech-laden, gadget-ey NASA file [The New York Times is running a great compendium on the mission, as well.]:

Click To Play

Right now, at Midnight, NASA-TV is carrying the post-touch-down Phoenix press conference — and the most salient item, thus far — the solar panels have deployed perfectly, to power Phoenix, and she sits on solid Martian footing, per these NASA images, tonight:

I’ll not mention this again, in this space, so if it interests you — check back from time to time at the NASA links, above. G’night, and Godspeed, Phoenix.

For Memorial Day 2008 — We Wander, Off-Topic, and Off-Planet. . . .

[When we go “off-topic” for this blog — we go way off — (“nothing exceeds, like excess,” eh?) — off the planet, even.]

Tonight, NASA celebrated a resounding success — around 8 p.m. EDT, the Phoenix Mars lander touched-down, softly, near the Martian Northern-polar-cap — and radioed home — to say it was safe, and sound. [You may access updates on the Phoenix mission’s progress, via this NASA page — the first images are already coming online, after being uploaded from. . . . the Martian Artic, tonight — how cool is that? See one, below the video-feed.]

This flawless touch-down opens the most exciting part of a NASA mission to analyze the known deposits of water-ice there, and correlatively, engage in a preliminary search for any remaining evidence of long-lost, likely-long-gone, and long-extinct simple, primordial life — from millions and millions of years past, on Mars. That long ago evidence — if it ever existed, at all — might possibly take the form of specific chemical traces — still there, in the soil, or in the ice, all for Phoenix to sleuth out. So, I’ll offer this 60 second animation celebration, edited from a much longer, more tech-laden, gadget-ey NASA file [The New York Times is running a great compendium on the mission, as well.]:

Click To Play

Right now, at Midnight, NASA-TV is carrying the post-touch-down Phoenix press conference — and the most salient item, thus far — the solar panels have deployed perfectly, to power Phoenix, and she sits on solid Martian footing, per these NASA images, tonight:

I’ll not mention this again, in this space, so if it interests you — check back from time to time at the NASA links, above. G’night, and Godspeed, Phoenix.

For Memorial Day 2008 — We Wander, Off-Topic, and Off-Planet. . . .

[When we go “off-topic” for this blog — we go way off — (“nothing exceeds, like excess,” eh?) — off the planet, even.]

Tonight, NASA celebrated a resounding success — around 8 p.m. EDT, the Phoenix Mars lander touched-down, softly, near the Martian Northern-polar-cap — and radioed home — to say it was safe, and sound. [You may access updates on the Phoenix mission’s progress, via this NASA page — the first images are already coming online, after being uploaded from. . . . the Martian Artic, tonight — how cool is that? See one, below the video-feed.]

This flawless touch-down opens the most exciting part of a NASA mission to analyze the known deposits of water-ice there, and correlatively, engage in a preliminary search for any remaining evidence of long-lost, likely-long-gone, and long-extinct simple, primordial life — from millions and millions of years past, on Mars. That long ago evidence — if it ever existed, at all — might possibly take the form of specific chemical traces — still there, in the soil, or in the ice, all for Phoenix to sleuth out. So, I’ll offer this 60 second animation celebration, edited from a much longer, more tech-laden, gadget-ey NASA file [The New York Times is running a great compendium on the mission, as well.]:

Click To Play

Right now, at Midnight, NASA-TV is carrying the post-touch-down Phoenix press conference — and the most salient item, thus far — the solar panels have deployed perfectly, to power Phoenix, and she sits on solid Martian footing, per these NASA images, tonight:

I’ll not mention this again, in this space, so if it interests you — check back from time to time at the NASA links, above. G’night, and Godspeed, Phoenix.