On this day in space! Aug. 4, 2007: NASA launches Phoenix Mars lander to Red Planet

On Aug. 4, 2007, NASA launched its Phoenix Mars Lander on a mission to touch down in the Martian arctic for the first time. Here's why it mattered.

The top 3

  1. Perseverance Rover's Ancient Life Quest: Perseverance is actively collecting rock and soil samples in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microbial life and prepare for future return to Earth.
  2. Curiosity Rover's Habitable Past Findings: The Curiosity rover discovered evidence that Mars once had environments capable of supporting microbial life, including liquid water, organic molecules, and chemical energy sources.
  3. Viking Missions' First Surface Insights: The Viking 1 and 2 landers were the first U.S. missions to successfully land on Mars in 1976 and provided the first detailed images and data from the Martian surface.

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