As the Martian winter approaches, the Phoenix Mars Mission is figuratively on its last metal leg, but awards recognizing its success are blasting off.
The University of Arizona-led mission was awarded the National Space Club's 2008 Astronautics Engineer Award at the 20th annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Dinner on Wednesday, an event that honors the memory of von Braun, a pioneer in rocketry and astronautics.
"This award recognizes that our team really met the ideals of the von Braun legacy," Peter Smith, the UA's chief scientist for the mission, said in a press release. "It's apt because von Braun planned to follow his work in rocketry that landed men on the moon with work that would land humans on Mars."
The ceremony took place at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to recognize individuals and groups for their achievements.
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Since 1991, the Astronautics Engineer Award has been presented to scientists and engineers who have made outstanding contributions to U.S. rocketry and astronautics, the press release stated.
This isn't the first time the Phoenix Mars Mission has been lauded. The mission was named as one of the top 10 world-changing innovations of the year in the November issue of Popular Mechanics magazine.
DID YOU KNOW
The Phoenix Mars Mission is nearing its end.
When the lander arrived on Mars over Memorial Day weekend, it was scheduled to spend three months conducting experiments.
But conditions have been so good that the mission was extended. Now completing its fifth month, the mission will continue as long as there's enough solar energy to power the lander, probably until late November.
