On May 25, 2008, the Phoenix Mars Lander will attempt its 7-minute descent onto the North Pole of Mars. Launched in August, the eight month trip thus far will look like a breeze compared to the tricky maneuvering necessary to land on another planet.

Phoenix will enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at almost 21,000 kilometers per hour (almost 13,000 mph). In seven minutes, the spacecraft must complete a challenging sequence of events to slow to about 8 kilometers per hour (5 mph) before its three legs reach the ground.

And this all must be done entirely autonomously. While the descent itself takes seven minutes, any information traveling to or from Mars will take ten minutes. So by the time NASA hears about the descent beginning, it will already be over.

Cynics may scoff at the difficulty, noting it’s been done, but you should also note that only half of international attempts to land on Mars have been successful. Here’s hoping this $325 million mission is in the “success” half.

The Phoenix website has an completely over-the-top video of the EDL (entry, descent, landing) process. Visit http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix for more information, including when and how to watch live coverage of the descent.

UPDATE: Catch up-to-the-minute updates on the MarsPhoenix Twitter page.

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