The Phoenix probe has been delivered to NASA by Lockheed Martin. The Phoenix probe is the next generation of scientific probe scheduled to study Mars. This particular Martian mission is dedicated to looking for, and possibly testing, water under the surface of the planet. The probe is set for launch in August.

There isn't much happening in the world of space travel today. Most of the news is just re-hashing old stories. None-the-less here's a quick run down of the more interesting stories of the day.

There is more blow back from the Chinese Anti-Satellite (ASAT) test from mid-January. MSNBC once again refers to the satellite as having been blown up by a ballistics missile. Early reports indicated a laser weapon. I would really like to know which is true.

People have high expectations of the building capabilities of the private space tourism industry. This article just runs down some of the more interesting players in the game and how the organizations are bureaucratizing themselves for the launch of private space travel. The Personal Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of companies involved in private space travel, is setting up to work with the FAA to develop manageable policies for people in space.

Scientists from NASA have said that first attempts to find life on Mars may have been unsuccessful because they were looking for water based life. A new project, Phoenix, scheduled to launch later this year will examine the possibility of hydrogen peroxide based life forms on Mars.

I like this quote, '"Logical consistency is nice, but it's not enough anymore," McKay said.'