Phoenix Marslanders - special document, USA

This special document was published in honor of the successful landing of the "Phoenix Marslander" on Mars. The special voucher is franked with the "Pionier II." and a self-adhesive postage stamp. The special receipt is canceled on the day the Phoenix Marslander landed with the special postmark from Pasadena, California.

On August 4, 2007, the space probe "Phoenix" was sent to Mars by NASA with a Delta II rocket. On May 25, 2008, it landed perfectly at the North Pole of Mars in the Vastitas Borealis region. Due to the great distance to earth, the first signals could only be received 15 minutes later. The space probe landed in a region where, just below the surface, the ground should consist of up to 80 percent water ice. "Phoenix" took soil with a robotic arm and heated it in an oven. This produced water vapor. On November 2nd, 2008 the "Phoenix" sent signals to earth for the last time. Then the energy supply broke off. In 2010 another attempt was made to establish contact with "Phoenix", but this failed. The orbiter "Mars Reconnaissance" delivered high-resolution images. The pictures show that the solar panels were bent during the Martian winter and broke off. This made the "Phoenix" completely inoperable.