III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 591 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 11, 2008 Mr. Brown submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation RESOLUTION Recognizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the historic touchdown of the Phoenix Mars Lander during its 50th anniversary year.

Whereas the Phoenix Mars Lander (Phoenix) touched down successfully on Mars on May 25, 2008; Whereas the Phoenix landing was the first successful soft landing on Mars in over 30 years; Whereas this achievement occurred during the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) 50th year of scientific and technological excellence, and 47 years to the day after President Kennedy challenged the Nation to put a man on the moon; Whereas the successful Phoenix landing is the result of years of planning, analyzing, and testing conducted by the dedicated men and women of NASA; Whereas less than 50 percent of all previous lander missions have made it safely to the Mars planetary surface; Whereas Phoenix is the first mission in NASA’s Mars Scout program, a series of innovative and lower-cost spacecraft that will complement major missions; Whereas Phoenix will be the first mission to collect meteorological data in the Martian arctic; Whereas the mission will study the history of the planet in its water and ice, monitor weather of the polar region, and investigate whether the subsurface environment in the far-northern plains of Mars has ever been favorable for sustaining microbial life; Whereas this data will allow scientists to accurately model Mars’s past climate and predict future weather processes; Whereas this data will increase our knowledge of the existence and nature of habitable zones on Mars; While this data is instrumental in achieving the science goals of NASA’s long-term Mars Exploration Program; Whereas NASA Glenn Research Center’s support to past Mars missions has enabled the continuing scientific exploration of Mars; and Whereas the Glenn Research Center’s contributions to NASA's Human Research Program play a vital role in providing solutions to critical problems that place human exploration missions and their crews at risk: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for 50 years of scientific and technological excellence; (2)recognizes NASA for the historic landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander; (3)recognizes the importance of the Phoenix mission to NASA’s long-term Mars Exploration Program; (4)recognizes the importance of contributions made by NASA Glenn Research Center to the NASA space program, including to Mars and moon missions; and (5)recognizes the importance of NASA's Human Research Program, and Glenn Research Center’s contributions to such program, to the health and safety of all NASA astronauts.