From the very beginning, everyone associated with Phoenix has realized that this is a crapshoot.

一开始，凤凰号所有人都知道这风险很高。

It's when something goes wrong-when communications are lost or thruster fuel is exhausted-that re-entry becomes a crapshoot.

出现问题————通讯中断或推进器燃料耗尽——的时候，重返大气层能不能成功就要看运气了。