HOUSTON, May 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency said its controllers have successfully made a slight course correction to adjust the Phoenix spacecraft's flight path toward Mars.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the correction made last weekend involved the spacecraft's four trajectory-correction thrusters being fired for less then two seconds. That maneuver nudged Phoenix toward a targeted landing spot approximately 11 miles to the northwest, with the goal of hitting the center of the certified landing zone.
NASA said the next scheduled opportunity for a course correction will be May 24, the day before Phoenix lands on Mars.