Mars lander gets a solid start [MRO image shows Phoenix & parachute descending to surface]

CNet news blog ^ | May 26, 2008 12:07 PM PDT | Natalie Weinstein

[NormsRevenge]

Cool shot of the chute and payload.. Thanks!

[Mike Fieschko]

ping. Thought your list would like the image.

[wastedyears]

That’s really cool

[tlj18]

If that’s not cool, then I don’t know what is.

[GunnyB]

The lander is expected to function for about 90 days with energy generated by the solar panels.

Why is this the case? I would think that Solar Panels would provide power as long as they functioned...

[AntiKev]

In 90 days the CO2 in the Martian atmosphere will start to sublimate from gas to solid. Shortly thereafter it will be encased in 1m of solid CO2.

[Reaganesque]

“Phoenix is on a three month mission.” Of course, the last two three month mission to Mars are still working and returning data so, we’ll see how long this one lasts. Of course, since Phoenix is near Mar’s North Pole and is solar powered, it will be out of commission when the sun goes down for a few months. But, when the sun comes up again, hopefully Phoenix will be able to re-power itself.

[Reaganesque]

See reply #8.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Shortly thereafter it will be encased in 1m of solid CO2.

Didn't kill Han Solo, so maybe Phoenix will be OK too. ;)

[Drango]

Second photo back....

[Continental Soldier]

Interesting geometric patterns in the landscape. Wonder what they reveal?

[SJSAMPLE]

One of the scientists involved said that the lander will be covered with a meter of frozen CO2. Powering up after that might be iffy.

[Empireoftheatom48]

I believe at some point winter will set in and the area will be in constant shadow. It was funny in the briefing, a question was asked about the power source for the Viking landers, The two scientists kind of looked at each other and gave a techno answer. The some one said NUCPOWER. They looked a little embarrassed. Here again is another example of the Wacko fringe telling us we can't use Nuclear power for our rockets and probes.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

The most important part of this is how much money Al Gore and his greenies can make off of it. Get out your checkbook and we can stop carbon on Mars. It all our fault, reasons to be determined later.

[tlj18]

Hey, it’s certainly worth a try to power up the lander after the sun is due to rise again. Probably wouldn’t work, though. I was just reading about the different instruments on board the lander, and one of the interesting ones is the robotic arm. The arm will be arm to dig up to 1.6 feet down into the Martian soil. That’s pretty deep! We just might see liquid water on Mars for the first time...

[NormsRevenge]

agreed, they had to make a lot of calculations to make sure the MRO was flying over that particular place at that particular time to get that shot.. pretty good job all around on that run.

[Mike Fieschko]

In addition to being encased in dry ice, Phoenix landed above the Martian Arctic Circle, and, just as on Earth, the Sun is below the Martian horizon during winter. This means that there is no electricity available to the craft from its solar cells, and the batteries cannot be recharged.

[cripplecreek]

Personally I want to get a look inside the caves we now know exist on mars.

[ETL]

Hey, that is really good! An instant classic. Did you do it yourself? I love the "peace" sign. Perhaps you could do another where the large banner reads: "No War On Mars" or something along those lines. Another might relate to John Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War and *their* version of the "Phoenix Project" .