Click on the image for the animation
This animation shows how NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander stays in contact with
Earth. As NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter passes overhead approximately every
two hours, Phoenix transmits images and scientific data from the surface
to the orbiter, which then relays the data to NASA's Deep Space Network of
antennas on Earth. Similarly, NASA's Deep Space Network transmits
instructions from Earth to Odyssey, which then relays the information to
Phoenix.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.