NASA's next mission to Mars will attempt to put a long-armed lander on icy ground in the north.

The agency approved Thursday the Phoenix lander for an August 2007 launch.

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Phoenix will look for possible water ice and signs of life.

The project was selected in 2003 for planning and design, and will now begin to prepare for the trip. It is the first project in NASA's Mars Scout Program of competitively selected missions, the agency said in a news release.

Unlike the still-active rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Phoenix will be stationary. It has a robotic arm to dig down to the martian ice layer and deliver samples to sophisticated analytical instruments on the lander's deck.

In 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter found evidence of ice-rich soil very near the surface in the arctic regions.

The cost of the Phoenix mission is $386 million, which includes the cost of launch, NASA said.

A counter on the mission Web site lists 788 days until takeoff.