Gov. Janet Napolitano, with Phoenix Mars Mission lead scientist Peter Smith: "This is going to be the place to be in the world come the landing."

James Gregg / arizona daily star

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Gov. Janet Napolitano took her first tour of the UA's Phoenix Mars Mission headquarters Wednesday, saying a culture of innovation and scientific research is an integral part of Arizona's future.

Napolitano looked over a full-scale replica of the probe, which was launched in August and is scheduled to touch down on Mars in May to study climate and search for signs of habitability, as she discussed the mission's importance to the state.

"I wanted to come because I know the landing is coming up, and I wanted to see what's happening here and take what I learn today and spread it around Arizona," Napolitano said.

The governor toured the mission command center with Peter Smith, the project's lead scientist, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Director Michael Drake and University of Arizona President Robert Shelton. Along the way she asked about student involvement in the Phoenix mission and whether a project is in place for a successor mission.

"This is going to be the place to be in the world come the landing," she said. "It's a great statement to be able to make about Arizona's future."

NASA officials are planning another rover mission to Mars with a tentative launch in 2013.

Smith introduced Napolitano to the mission's staff and thanked her for visiting, saying Tucson has a tremendous future in conducting space missions.

"This is the Super Bowl of science, and it can't be duplicated anywhere else in the world," he said.

With Arizona's 96th birthday today, the governor said it's a time to look to the state's new horizons as well as its past.

"How perfect is it as we celebrate Arizona's history to think about some of the things in our great future," she said.

Projects like the Phoenix Mars Mission and the recently announced iPlant Collaborative, a $50 million biology initiative housed at the UA's Bio5 Institute, prove the UA's value as an educational and research asset, Napolitano said.

"All of that goes into creating this innovative culture of research, science and exploration that's such a part of Arizona and needs to be a part of Arizona's future," she said.

"Even with the budget downturn we need to keep investing in our universities."