(JACK DEMPSEY ~ Associated Press) But before it can start its
work, the Phoenix Mars Lander must survive landing on the
surface of the rocky, dusty Red Planet, which has a reputation
of swallowing manmade probes. Of the 15 global attempts to land
spacecraft on Mars, only five have made it. "Mars has the
tendency to throw you curve balls," said Doug McCuistion, who
heads the Mars program at NASA headquarters. Phoenix, which is
pieced from old hardware that was shelved after two embarrassing
Mars failures in 1999, will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Fla.,
aboard a Delta II rocket on a 423-million-mile trip. The three-
week launch window opens Friday. Unlike the durable twin rovers
near the equator, the Phoenix Mars Lander will sit in one place
and extend its long arm to dig trenches in the permafrost and
scoop up soil for analysis. Made of aluminum and titanium, the
8-foot-long arm acts like a backhoe and can dig down 20 inches
and rotate. Although Phoenix lacks the tools to detect past or
current life, scientis