Phoenix (spacecraft) other institutions. The $325 million NASA award is more than six times larger than any other single research grant in University of Arizona history. Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, as Principal Investigator, along with 24 Co-Investigators, were selected to lead the mission. The mission was named after the Phoenix, a mythological bird that is repeatedly reborn from its own ashes. The "Phoenix" spacecraft contains several previously built components. The lander used for the 2007–08 mission is the modified Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (canceled in 2000), along with several of the instruments from both
Roc (mythology) (where it is depicted as a two-headed condor), and the 2003 animated film "", where it instead resembles snowy owl but with claws on its wings like a hoatzin. Other large mythic birds include: Roc (mythology) The roc (from "ruḵ ("also "rukh" or "rux")) is an enormous legendary bird of prey in the popular mythology of the Middle East. The roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors' folklore. Ibn Battuta tells of a mountain hovering in the air over the China Seas, which was the roc. The popular story collection "One Thousand