Phoenix in Such Good Shape, Next Maneuver To Be Skipped

There must have been lots of ‘high-fives’ at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Not for the trajectory correction maneuver test that was to have been conducted on May 10 for the upcoming Phoenix Mars Lander, set to land on Mars on May 25th. Rather, because the previous and subsequent tests indicated that the spacecraft’s performance has been stable enough to allow JPL controllers to skip the scheduled additional trajectory correction maneuver May 10th. Instead they are now focusing on the next such opportunity Saturday. Phoenix has performed three flight path corrections since its August 4th, 2007, launch. The final opportunity for adjusting course will be during the final 24 hours before landing. NASA said the first possible confirmation time for the spacecraft’s May 25th landing will be at 4:53 p.m. PDT. The event would have occurred 15 minutes and 20 seconds earlier on Mars, which is the time it takes radio signals traveling at the speed of light to travel from Mars to Earth—Pasadena, California