Phoenix Mars Lander mission wins Swigert Space Exploration Award

The Phoenix Mars Lander team has won the Swigert Award for space exploration "in recognition of the technical developments that led to one of the most startling and meaningful discoveries of the new millennium," according to The Space Foundation. In its five month mission, the Phoenix team confirmed the presence of water ice on the Red Planet.

The award is named in honor of Jack Swigert, the command module pilot for the the Apollo 13 mission, which successfully returned to Earth despite a crippled spacecraft, and will be presented at the foundation's 25th National Space Symposium to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo., on March 30.

This YouTube describes the descent of the craft to the surface of the planet. In a first, the craft was also spotted by the orbiting Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, marking the first time a human craft has been photographed on descent to another planet.

Wayne