The Phoenix apparatus started to Mars

The American Delta-2 launch vehicle, which will bring the Far Closure with Mars, the Phoenix Mars Lander, the British television channel Sky News, launched from the Cosmodrome in Cape Kanveral in Florida.

The launch of the mission, the goals of which are the study of the polar regions of Mars and the search for prerequisites for the emergence of life on the Red Planet, broadcasts in real time the official website of NASA.

In May 2008, Phoenix would try to land on the surface of Mars using its own engines included for braking and a special parachute. As expected, after planting, using a manipulator about eight feet long, Phoenix Mars Lander will be able to take a sample of Martian ice for the first time.

The studies conducted earlier using Russian devices indicate the presence of large Arctic deserts, where water ice lies directly under the surface. If it is possible to find out that the ice at the Martian surface is melting periodically, this can prove that favorable conditions for the emergence of microorganisms existed.

In addition, Phoenix Mars Lander will observe Martian weather and study the atmosphere on the surface of the Red Planet. The cost of the mission is about $ 420 million, RIA Novosti reports.