August 06, 2007 - A US space probe began a long journey to Mars on Saturday, where it will land and dig through Martian soil in a search for signs of life in a freezing region of the Red Planet.

The Phoenix Mars Lander separated from a Delta II rocket after blasting off into the dark sky at 5.26am (9.26am GMT) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Powered by solar panels, Phoenix, whose launch was delayed by one day following bad weather, is scheduled to land on Mars on 25 May 2008, after travelling 680 million kilometres through space, as per AFP.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hopes to land the probe on flat ground with few or no rocks at a Martian latitude equivalent to northern Alaska on Earth.

During its three-month mission, the lander will pierce through soil in the planet's arctic region amid freezing temperatures ranging from -73°C to -33°C.

The solar-powered craft is equipped with a 2.35 metre robotic arm that will enter vertically into the soil to break the icy crust believed to lie within a few inches of the surface.

The robotic arm will lift samples onto the lander's deck and use instruments to check for water and carbon-based chemicals, considered essential building blocks for life, and analyze the soil chemistry to look for clues of past or present life.

With its two solar panels deployed, the lander, built by US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin, measures 5.5 by 1.5 metres, weighs 350 kilograms and carries 55 kilograms of scientific equipment.

"Our instruments are specially designed to find evidence for periodic melting of the ice and to assess whether this large region represents a habitable environment for Martian microbes," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Phoenix also has a weather station that will measure water and dust content in the atmosphere.

Many scientists see signs of ancient rivers and oceans on the arid and sterile surface of Mars, and believe the planet may once have harboured some forms of life.