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On This Day In Space: Aug. 4, 2007: Phoenix Mars Lander launched to Red Planet

On This Day In Space: Aug. 4, 2007: Phoenix Mars Lander launched to Red Planet_64ce552ce9209.jpeg

On Aug. 4, 2007, NASA launched its Phoenix Mars Lander on a mission to touch down on Mars. 

The robotic spacecraft was designed to search for environments that could be suitable for microbial life and to study the history of water on the Red Planet. It lifted off at about 5:30 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and spent almost 10 months making its way to Mars. 

Related: Messenger: New Views of Mercury

NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander lifts off from Pad 17A aboard a Delta II 7925 rocket, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 5:26 a.m. EDT on Aug. 4, 2007. (Image credit: NASA/Regina Mitchell-Ryall and Jerry Cannon.)

When Phoenix arrived at the Red Planet, it landed farther north than any spacecraft had ever gone before. Not only did Phoenix find water-ice, but it also found what appeared to be small globs of liquid water.

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