Australian scientists assist in Mars landing
Updated
![Pictures from the Phoenix Mars Lander of the surface of the planet were routed to NASA via Australia. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]](http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/img/news/gallery/aus_mars_phoenix_supplied.jpg "Pictures from the Phoenix Mars Lander of the surface of the planet were routed to NASA via Australia. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]")
Pictures from the Phoenix Mars Lander of the surface of the planet were routed to NASA via Australia. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona]
Scientists in Australia's capital, Canberra, took part in the mission of the Phoenix space probe, which landed on Mars on Monday.
The Phoenix Mars Lander is investigating whether Mars has the conditions needed to support life and will use a robotic arm to dig below the surface for water and ice.
The manager of Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, Glen Nagle, says its location played an important role.
"The entry decent and landing this morning went through our station in California, but as the other orbiting spacecraft around Mars started relaying back the science information or the pictures that was all streaming back through our station here in Canberra," he said.
