This video features the mission of the Phoenix Mars Lander and what it discovered. With behind-the-scenes access, NOVA scienceNOW covers the Mars lander Phoenix's thrilling descent to the martian surface and its critical early days of operations. Phoenix will digs into the permafrost to obtain samples of martian dirt and ice for analysis in onboard labs, seeking any evidence that the Red Planet might once have sustained microbial life -- or perhaps still does. [52:20]