| It was an exciting time at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field this afternoon. Cheryl and I decided to join other space enthusiasts at the museum for a live television feed of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's activities as the spacecraft landed. Over a year ago, as members of the Planetary Society, we were invited to include our names on a special DVD that would be carried by this craft to Mars. I believe that Heidi, Tricia, Allen and both the cats, Moonshadow and Misty are also listed on the disk. NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm. Around 4:53 this afternoon we joined many others in applauding the successful entry, descent, and landing. The landing was perfect and all systems performed very well. While at the museum we also toured the British Airways Concord. It was fascinating to go inside and see just how this supersonic airliner was setup. Also discovered that the plane actually stretched several inches while in flight. The aisles were so narrow we had to walk sideways and there was only a few inches of headroom for me. We then went home and after dinner watched NASA Television as the first images were downloaded. Click here to see the museum pictures. |