SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp company, Lockheed Martin and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are counting on 12 Aerojet lander engines to smoothly land NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander onto the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008. Aerojet's eight cruise engines have guided the spacecraft to Mars, and the 12 lander engines will execute the first successful actively guided descent onto the northern plains of Mars since the twin Viking Landers arrived in 1976.
Each of the three Mars orbiters is adjusting its orbit to be over the right place at the right time to support the landing -- Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter carry Aerojet propulsion, as have all U.S. missions to Mars since the historic Viking Landers. The third spacecraft on alert is the European Space Agency's Mars Express.
Every landing on Mars entails complex maneuvers. The three orbiters will track Phoenix as it streaks through Mars' atmosphere breaking new ground with critical events coverage during a robotic landing. NASA expects to track Phoenix during the crucial entry, descent and landing events and for as much as one minute after touchdown. "Aerojet joins NASA and our customer Lockheed Martin in anticipation of a smooth landing on Mars," said Aerojet President Scott Neish. "We are proud to be part of this historic event."
NASA's Phoenix mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin.
Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies' Web sites at http://www.aerojet.com/ and http://www.gencorp.com/.
