There was joy in Pasadena Sunday, when the Phoenix lander obeyed the laws of physics and completed its programmed suite of gravitational, aerodynamic and rocket-driven maneuvers to come to rest on the surface of Mars, intact and ready for business.
In addition to the now-usual clear pictures of the Martian landscape, the increasingly crowded Martian orbit yielded a unique view of the lander. For the first time, one probe observed the descent of another probe, as the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter caught sight of the Phoenix suspended beneath its parachute in the last moments of the lander's decent. The MRO saw it again today sitting on the Martian surface.
Well done, rocket scientists. Now, as the lander begins to dig ditches in the Martian soil, it's the geologists' turn to deliver something new to humanity's body of knowledge.
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