Despite humankind's fascination with Mars, it has proved to be an elusive target. More than half of the missions to Mars have failed, but a new team of dreamers, scientists and engineers is set to try again. Phoenix Mars Mission, led by Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, is the latest mission seeking to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet. The Phoenix Mars Mission team seeks to verify the presence of water and habitable conditions in the Martian arctic.

Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice follows engineers and scientists from all over the world as they race against the clock to have the Phoenix Mars Lander ready for its narrow window of opportunity to blastoff from Cape Canaveral on its interplanetary trajectory. Once there, "Phoenix" and its sensitive instruments will have a window of approximately 90 days to collect data before the brutal Martian winter sets in.