NASA launched Phoenix Mars lander to arctic in 2007

NASA launched its Phoenix Mars lander on Aug. 4, 2007, atop a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral. The robotic probe landed farther north than any spacecraft before, confirming subsurface water ice and finding evidence of liquid water. It also detected perchlorate in Martian soil. Built from a canceled mission, Phoenix operated two months longer than planned before falling silent in November 2008.