Sunday's touchdown was the first successful soft landing on Mars since the twin Viking landers touched down in 1976. NASA’s twin rovers, which successfully landed on Mars four years ago, used a combination of parachutes and cushioned air bags to bounce to the surface.Phoenix’s landing was a relief for NASA, since Mars has a reputation for swallowing spacecraft. More than half of all nations’ attempts to land on Mars have failed.
NASA Administrator Mike Griffin marveled at the precision of the Phoenix team members' aim, saying they achieved better than "one part in 10 million of accuracy." Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for the science missions directorate, said that was the equivalent of hitting a golf ball in Washington — to make a hole-in-one on a golf course in Australia.
"And you have to remember, that hole is moving," JPL Director Charles Elachi quipped.
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