After spending 10 months traveling to Mars, the Phoenix lander will touch down on Mars this Sunday. NASA scientists will be biting their nails between the seven minutes it will take to land once it enters Mars' atmosphere.

So what is NASA doing this time? This wire graphic explains the mission and how the spacecraft will make its landing. The Phoenix's goal is to find evidence that life existed on the planet by studying soil and ice samples.

Need more? NASA has some great images and a blog, while the University of Arizona (the brains behind the ship) has a more in-depth site on the spacecraft and its mission.

But please, try to keep the theme music to "2001: A space odyssey" on low as you do the research.