Mythical beasts / The phoenix

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/74658151/

The phoenix is a mythical bird with a golden tail and red feathers (well, traditionally at least). It can live up to 800 years long and at the end of its life cycle the bird ignites itself in its nest. However, from the ashes a new bird is born, which possesses all the magical qualities of the old one. The bird can also heal itself when its enemies wound it so it is practically immortal and invincible. The phoenix is an important symbol of fire and divinity in all the main religions of humankind. Its Indian counterpart is the Garuda, which is a half bird half human creature with an enormous power. The Garuda is a carrier and emblem of Hindu deities Vishnu, Krishna and Vaishnavi.

http://silkpaintings.wordpress.com/2007/10/28/vishnu-garuda/

The story of Garuda's birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great epic Mahabharata. According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy. (from wikipedia)

Later in the epic, when Garuda's mother became a slave, in order to liberate her, Garuda had to get the elixir of immortality from the gods. He was so powerful that he defeated the gods and robbed the elixir. Yet, after liberating his mother, Garuda returned the elixir to the gods and became their ally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)

Phoenix was also the name of a Mars mission in 2008. During this mission, a spacecraft landed on Mars to search the history of water on the planet and to search for environments suitable for life there. Phoenix landed in the polar region, where no other spacecraft had landed before. It was not a rover but a lander, which means that instead of traveling on the surface it stayed at the spot of the landing. The mission was anticipated to last for about 90 Martian days, but the lander kept on working two months longer before the approaching Martian winter finally silenced it. Phoenix found samples of ice in the ground but it also found materials that make the planet a much less life-friendly place than scientists had thought. Now (January 2009), the lander is under the polar cap of Mars encased in dry ice so a real phoenix-like resurrection will be needed in spring to revive itself. Scientists don't consider it very likely, but who knows?

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