US probe to make perilous landing on Martian arctic (AFP)

In this artist's illustration obtained from NASA on May 23, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is seen on the surface of Mars after landing. The historically less-than-50 percent odds of success loomed heavily as NASA scientists readied Saturday for the landing of the 420-million-dollar Phoenix spacecraft near Mars' frigid north pole.(AFP/NASA) AFP - The historically less-than-50 percent odds of success loomed heavily as NASA scientists readied Saturday for the landing of the 420-million-dollar Phoenix spacecraft near Mars' frigid north pole.