1 00:00:01,510 --> 00:00:05,630 \h GEORGE DILLER: Mars... Our planetary neighbor has long intrigued us 2 00:00:05,630 --> 00:00:10,800 \h and invited speculation about whether life exists there. Recent successful 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:15,150 \h missions like NASA’s Mars rovers have yielded increasing knowledge about 4 00:00:15,150 --> 00:00:20,810 \h the red planet's geology and history. Now, a new space explorer is waiting in 5 00:00:20,810 --> 00:00:27,260 \h the wings and ready to take center stage: the Mars lander called Phoenix. 6 00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:31,800 \h Set for launch aboard a Delta II rocket, Phoenix will dig through the Martian 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:37,140 \h soil and ice in the arctic region using a robotic arm. Phoenix will use its 8 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:42,330 \h onboard scientific instruments to analyze the samples it retrieves. 9 00:00:42,330 --> 00:00:47,150 \h By using the Deep Space Network tracking stations, scientists on Earth will be able to 10 00:00:47,150 --> 00:00:51,630 \h communicate with the spacecraft. They hope to learn more about existing 11 00:00:51,630 --> 00:00:58,490 \h water on the planet, as well as search for any signs that some form of life could exist there. 12 00:00:58,490 --> 00:01:01,510 \h The Phoenix mission should take us one step closer to the 13 00:01:01,510 --> 00:01:06,550 \h goal of someday conducting human exploration of Mars. Join us now at the 14 00:01:06,550 --> 00:01:10,860 \h Kennedy Space Center in Florida as we take an in-depth look at preparations 15 00:01:10,860 --> 00:01:16,940 \h for the launch, and learn about the science of our next mission to Mars, Phoenix. 16 00:01:16,940 --> 00:01:48,300 \h Music. 17 00:01:48,300 --> 00:01:51,160 \h TIFFANY NAIL: Welcome to the Phoenix webcast. I'm your host, 18 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:57,130 \h Tiffany Nail. Today, we're going to take you out of the studio and into the field to 19 00:01:57,130 --> 00:02:01,930 \h show you where all the action takes place in the weeks leading up to liftoff. 20 00:02:01,930 --> 00:02:05,510 \h You'll see how the rocket takes shape at the launch pad as the spacecraft 21 00:02:05,510 --> 00:02:11,960 \h undergoes its final tests just a few miles away. So let's get started. Our 22 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,610 \h mission manager, Ron Mueller, is going to join me at the clean room where 23 00:02:15,610 --> 00:02:20,370 \h the Phoenix lander is being prepared for launch. But first, here's Ron to tell 24 00:02:20,370 --> 00:02:25,740 \h us a little more about the spacecraft. 25 00:02:25,740 --> 00:02:28,220 \h RON MUELLER: The last stop on Earth for the Phoenix spacecraft is 26 00:02:28,220 --> 00:02:32,560 \h NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Built in Colorado by Lockheed 27 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,310 \h Martin Space Systems, Phoenix arrived at the space center's Shuttle Landing 28 00:02:36,310 --> 00:02:41,480 \h Facility aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17. From there, it was transported to a 29 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,760 \h clean room at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for preflight testing. 30 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,180 \h The final checkouts include spin-balance testing with and without fuel, 31 00:02:50,180 --> 00:02:54,500 \h testing the heat shield separation, verifying the launch and cruise stage 32 00:02:54,500 --> 00:02:59,290 \h systems, and conducting solar array deployment and lighting tests. 33 00:02:59,290 --> 00:03:02,600 \h Workers loaded flight software and performed compatibility testing with the 34 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,760 \h Deep Space Network. The parachute that will slow the spacecraft's descent 35 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,400 \h through the thin Martian atmosphere was installed, and the electrical power 36 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:14,930 \h system was put through a final performance test. The landing radar was 37 00:03:14,930 --> 00:03:19,820 \h integrated and the entry, descent and landing system verified. Following all 38 00:03:19,820 --> 00:03:24,280 \h the tests, the spacecraft can then be installed on the third stage before 39 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,190 \h moving to the launch pad in a transportation canister. 40 00:03:28,190 --> 00:03:29,720 \h With the third stage attached to the 41 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,900 \h Delta II rocket and covered with a protective fairing, 42 00:03:32,900 --> 00:03:38,960 \h Phoenix will await liftoff on its exciting journey to Mars. 43 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,060 \h NAIL: I'm here now in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility with Ron Mueller. 44 00:03:43,060 --> 00:03:44,120 \h Thanks for joining me, Ron. 45 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,400 \h MUELLER: Good to be here, Tiffany. 46 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,120 \h NAIL: Ron, could you explain to us your role as mission manager for Phoenix? 47 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,120 \h MUELLER: Sure. As mission manager, I work with the spacecraft team and 48 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,170 \h the launch vehicle team here at Kennedy Space Center to ensure that the 49 00:03:55,170 --> 00:04:00,450 \h spacecraft is designed and tested to withstand the environment during launch 50 00:04:00,450 --> 00:04:04,440 \h and prepare all the steps along the way so that everything is readied for launch. 51 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,890 \h NAIL: Ron, one of our viewers, Justin from Flint, asked, "How do we get 52 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:12,920 \h the lander out to the launch pad and up on top of the rocket?" 53 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,070 \h MUELLER: The first step in moving the spacecraft out to the launch pad is 54 00:04:16,070 --> 00:04:19,200 \h to bring the third stage of the launch vehicle here to the PHSF. The 55 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,760 \h spacecraft will be mounted to that third stage. 56 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,920 \h That stack will be encapsulated and then transported out to the launch pad, 57 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:26,980 \h where the rest ofthe vehicle awaits. 58 00:04:26,980 --> 00:04:30,400 \h NAIL: Jessica from Denver wanted to know what protects Phoenix from 59 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,670 \h getting damaged during the launch. 60 00:04:32,670 --> 00:04:35,340 \h MUELLER: To protect the spacecraft from damage during launch, we first 61 00:04:35,340 --> 00:04:38,490 \h do a lot of analysis and testing to ensure that the spacecraft is designed to 62 00:04:38,490 --> 00:04:41,730 \h meet that environment. Additionally, there's a fairing on the launch vehicle 63 00:04:41,730 --> 00:04:44,660 \h that helps protect the spacecraft during the launch phase. 64 00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:46,670 \h NAIL: Ron, thanks for joining me outside the clean room. 65 00:04:46,670 --> 00:04:48,930 \h MUELLER: You're welcome. 66 00:04:48,930 --> 00:04:52,110 \h NAIL: While final preparations are under way here on the spacecraft, the 67 00:04:52,110 --> 00:04:56,520 \h rocket that will carry it is being readied just a few miles away at Launch Pad 68 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:01,220 \h 17-A. Before Launch Manager Chuck Dovale joins me at the pad, here's our 69 00:05:01,220 --> 00:05:09,980 \h deputy chief engineer, Dave Sollberger, to tell us how the rocket is prepared for launch. 70 00:05:09,980 --> 00:05:12,200 \h DAVE SOLLBERGER: The launch vehicle that will carry the Phoenix 71 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,730 \h spacecraft on the first leg of its journey to Mars is the Delta II rocket. 72 00:05:16,730 --> 00:05:23,070 \h Deltas have been carrying NASA spacecraft aloft since the 1960s, and today's Delta 73 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:29,520 \h II has a long history of successful launches. Unlike the space shuttle, which 74 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:35,020 \h is moved to the launch pad fully assembled, the Delta II is erected on the pad 75 00:05:35,020 --> 00:05:39,860 \h in stages. In a hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers prepare 76 00:05:39,860 --> 00:05:44,540 \h and test the first and second stages of the rocket before moving them to the 77 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:50,220 \h launch pad. Once the first stage is hoisted into place on the pad, the nine 78 00:05:50,220 --> 00:05:54,960 \h solid rocket boosters that will help propel the Delta II are attached. Workers 79 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:00,360 \h then raise the second stage atop the first, as the powerful launch vehicle 80 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,480 \h takes shape. In the final days before launch, the spacecraft is attached to the 81 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:10,350 \h upper-stage booster before moving to the launch pad in a transport canister. 82 00:06:10,350 --> 00:06:14,580 \h Once the spacecraft is mounted atop the rocket and covered with its 83 00:06:14,580 --> 00:06:18,670 \h protective fairing, the Delta II awaits its thunderous liftoff and the beginning 84 00:06:18,670 --> 00:06:24,720 \h of another exciting mission to Mars. 85 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,460 \h NAIL: I'm here at Launch Pad-17A with Phoenix Launch Manager Chuck 86 00:06:28,460 --> 00:06:29,700 \h Dovale. Chuck, thanks for joining us. 87 00:06:29,700 --> 00:06:31,450 \h CHUCK DOVALE: Thanks, Tiffany. It's a pleasure to be here. 88 00:06:31,450 --> 00:06:34,670 \h NAIL: Chuck, Can you tell us what work is going on behind us here? 89 00:06:34,670 --> 00:06:37,230 \h DOVALE: We're to the point of testing the launch vehicle on the pad. We've 90 00:06:37,230 --> 00:06:41,380 \h got the first and second stage mated and we'll run through a series of 91 00:06:41,380 --> 00:06:45,640 \h electrical and mechanical checks before we do a simulated flight. 92 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,870 \h We'll load the first stage with liquid oxygen, make sure that the tank system is sound 93 00:06:49,870 --> 00:06:54,350 \h and willing to take cryogenic temperatures. It's all in preparation for the 94 00:06:54,350 --> 00:06:58,710 \h spacecraft and its third stage to roll out. Once we roll them out and mate 95 00:06:58,710 --> 00:07:03,180 \h them to the launch vehicle, we'll perform an integrated test, make sure that 96 00:07:03,180 --> 00:07:06,300 \h the launch vehicle and the spacecraft are working well together, 97 00:07:06,300 --> 00:07:08,830 \h and that's all in preparation for countdown. 98 00:07:08,830 --> 00:07:11,440 \h NAIL: Chuck, I have two questions from our viewers. Timothy from 99 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,830 \h Springfield would like to know, "Why does a Delta II rocket need so many boosters?" 100 00:07:16,830 --> 00:07:19,920 \h DOVALE: It's all about performance -- how much does the spacecraft weigh 101 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:24,470 \h and where's it going? So in the case of Phoenix, it's a fairly heavy spacecraft 102 00:07:24,470 --> 00:07:29,360 \h and it's going to Mars. So we needed a vehicle that would be able to lift off 103 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,440 \h the ground with Phoenix and take it through Earth's gravitational 104 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,160 \h pull and head on to Mars. 105 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,410 \h NAIL: Kevin from Bowling Green would like to know what makes a Delta 106 00:07:40,410 --> 00:07:43,550 \h II rocket the right one to carry the Phoenix spacecraft. 107 00:07:43,550 --> 00:07:46,320 \h DOVALE: We look at three things when we're evaluating a mission. 108 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:51,580 \h We look at cost effectiveness. We look at past performance and capability of the 109 00:07:51,580 --> 00:07:56,710 \h launch vehicle. Can it lift the mass that we have and take it to the proper 110 00:07:56,710 --> 00:08:01,090 \h orbit? In the case of Phoenix, we looked at that and this particular 111 00:08:01,090 --> 00:08:04,710 \h configuration of the Delta II was a perfect match for Phoenix. 112 00:08:04,710 --> 00:08:07,230 \h NAIL: Well, thanks, Chuck, for joining us and good luck on launch day. 113 00:08:07,230 --> 00:08:09,770 \h DOVALE: Thanks, Tiffany. 114 00:08:09,770 --> 00:08:12,400 \h NAIL: Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith from the University of 115 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,670 \h Arizona has graciously agreed to answer some additional viewer 116 00:08:16,670 --> 00:08:23,270 \h Questions about the science of the mission. Here's Peter. 117 00:08:23,270 --> 00:08:26,590 \h PETER SMITH: My name is Peter Smith. I'm the principal investigator of 118 00:08:26,590 --> 00:08:32,700 \h the next mission to Mars called the Phoenix mission. Phoenix is going to 119 00:08:32,700 --> 00:08:37,520 \h Mars to an arctic region to investigate a discovery made in 2002 by the 120 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:43,010 \h Odyssey spacecraft that the arctic region has ice near the surface, 121 00:08:43,010 --> 00:08:47,480 \h surrounding the actual exposed polar cap. In other words, it's sort of a 122 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:52,100 \h permafrost region on Mars that was only recently discovered and whose 123 00:08:52,100 --> 00:08:56,460 \h properties are totally unknown. So Phoenix is a voyage of exploration and 124 00:08:56,460 --> 00:09:02,600 \h discovery. Putting the spacecraft down on one of the colder parts of Mars is 125 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:07,930 \h really something that has stressed our engineering team, and so we've had to 126 00:09:07,930 --> 00:09:13,190 \h come up with a well-insulated container to hold our electronics, which only 127 00:09:13,190 --> 00:09:17,570 \h work down to certain temperatures, and then we put in heaters to keep those 128 00:09:17,570 --> 00:09:21,820 \h electronics above that temperature at all times. Now of course, this takes 129 00:09:21,820 --> 00:09:27,750 \h some of our solar power, and as winter comes to the spacecraft and the sun 130 00:09:27,750 --> 00:09:33,030 \h sets, it gets extremely cold -- so cold that it actually freezes out the carbon 131 00:09:33,030 --> 00:09:37,710 \h dioxide atmosphere into dry ice. And you get a layer of dry ice that actually 132 00:09:37,710 --> 00:09:42,300 \h encases the spacecraft, and no solar energy for the heaters. And so, at that 133 00:09:42,300 --> 00:09:48,040 \h point, the electronics would be stressed past the point where they're 134 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:53,000 \h guaranteed to work and it'd be a miracle if they survive through that winter, 135 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,350 \h but we may try and listen in the spring and summer of the next year just to 136 00:09:55,350 --> 00:10:07,630 \h see if it did. I suspect it won't. The robot arm is very strong. If, if you were 137 00:10:07,630 --> 00:10:11,040 \h to brace your legs and hold on to that arm and try and stop it from moving, it 138 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,680 \h would drag you. So it's a strong arm. It may actually even move the 139 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:19,980 \h spacecraft. So we feel very confident we can get through even very hard- 140 00:10:19,980 --> 00:10:26,440 \h packed soils. Now when we get to the very cold ice that's almost a pure ice, 141 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,390 \h it's the hardness almost of granite. And so we've put a power tool on the end 142 00:10:31,390 --> 00:10:39,270 \h of the arm that actually acts as a rasp, and it spins and it throws pieces of ice 143 00:10:39,270 --> 00:10:42,330 \h chips inside of the back of our scoop, and we can deliver those to our 144 00:10:42,330 --> 00:10:45,530 \h instruments. So we are sure that we'll get a sample of even the hardest 145 00:10:45,530 --> 00:10:54,530 \h materials. NASA developed airbags as part of the Pathfinder mission and 146 00:10:54,530 --> 00:10:59,040 \h decided to use them again for the Mars rovers. However, the spacecraft we 147 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:04,550 \h have inherited was designed before Pathfinder was successful (its propulsion 148 00:11:04,550 --> 00:11:09,410 \h system was designed). And so we've gone back to the, the landing system of 149 00:11:09,410 --> 00:11:14,430 \h the Vikings, the two Vikings, which is using thrusters, and we feel that we're 150 00:11:14,430 --> 00:11:19,230 \h very safe using thrusters. And in fact, for us to use airbags would have to 151 00:11:19,230 --> 00:11:25,110 \h reduce the mass of our spacecraft and that would be, mean less science and 152 00:11:25,110 --> 00:11:32,090 \h less capability, so we're very happy with thrusters. The closest we've ever 153 00:11:32,090 --> 00:11:38,030 \h been to the polar regions with a lander, a successful lander, was Viking II, 154 00:11:38,030 --> 00:11:43,430 \h and it landed about 45 degrees north latitude. On the Earth, that would be 155 00:11:43,430 --> 00:11:48,210 \h somewhere near Chicago, I think, and very far from northern Canada or 156 00:11:48,210 --> 00:11:52,060 \h northern Greenland, which is the latitudes we're going to (using an Earth 157 00:11:52,060 --> 00:11:57,380 \h analog). Now there was an attempt to get to the polar regions in 1999 with 158 00:11:57,380 --> 00:12:02,410 \h Mars Polar Lander; unfortunately, it failed to land safely. And we are 159 00:12:02,410 --> 00:12:06,610 \h actually reusing some of the instruments that were on that mission and, 160 00:12:06,610 --> 00:12:13,360 \h hopefully, we will have success this time, and that's really the reason for the 161 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,970 \h name "Phoenix." Phoenix is a long-lived bird that dies in flames and is 162 00:12:17,970 --> 00:12:26,460 \h reborn from its ashes, so it's a symbol of rebirth. 163 00:12:26,460 --> 00:12:29,980 \h NAIL: I hope you enjoyed the program. I want to thank our guests for giving 164 00:12:29,980 --> 00:12:35,770 \h us this inside look at what goes into a successful launch and mission. Join us