Lockheed Martin's Phoenix en route to Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. firm Lockheed Martin's Phoenix Mars Lander is en route to Mars after being launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster.

The Phoenix was successfully launched by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Saturday. It was designed and constructed by Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin said its Flight Operations team at its Space Systems Company facility near Denver was in contact with the spacecraft. Phoenix will take nine and a half months to cover the 422 million miles to the red planet.

"Our team is extremely proud to deliver mission success for such long-standing customers as NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory," said Jim Crocker, vice president of sensing and exploration systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. "We have a distinguished history of delivering Mars missions for NASA, and we look forward to seeing the great science Phoenix will discover. The Lockheed Martin, JPL and University of Arizona teams have worked closely together over the last few years to make this mission a success, and this morning's launch is a majestic start to the voyage."

"Phoenix is the first mission of NASA's Mars Scout Program," Lockheed Martin said. "Scheduled to arrive at Mars on May 25, 2008, the spacecraft will land on the icy northern latitudes of Mars. During its 90-day primary mission, Phoenix will analyze ice and soil searching for organic compounds and other conditions favorable for life.

"During the next few weeks, engineers from Lockheed Martin, JPL and NASA will perform checkout and calibrations on the spacecraft, and make the first of several trajectory control maneuvers to maintain a course to Mars," the company said. "Throughout Phoenix's cruise to the red planet, the team will perform round the clock monitoring of the spacecraft, and will maintain command and control of the spacecraft during its entire mission. The team will also work hand-in-hand with the Science Operation Center based at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory."