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Phoenix lander set for May 25 touchdown on Mars: NASA

Wed, 2008-05-14 04:18 — ABN

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US space probe sent to Mars to dig for signs of life is nearing the end of its nine-month voyage and should touch down on the Red Planet on schedule, NASA said Tuesday.

The Phoenix Mars Lander, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral last August, is on course to reach the planet on May 25, where it will attempt to make a hazardous descent onto the Martian surface.

"This is not a trip to grandma's house. Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

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