Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet

NASA ^ | 11.10.08 | Dwayne Brown

[jmcenanly]

- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander's instruments.

Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on Nov. 2. Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier sky, more clouds and colder temperatures as the northern Mars summer approaches autumn. The mission exceeded its planned operational life of three months to conduct and return science data.

The project team will be listening carefully during the next few weeks to hear if Phoenix revives and phones home. However, engineers now believe that is unlikely because of the worsening weather conditions on Mars. While the spacecraft's work has ended, the analysis of data from the instruments is in its earliest stages.

[jmcenanly]

Veni, vidi, fodi. (I came, I saw, I dug) Graham Vosloo For other epitaphs, go to http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/marsphoenixs-tw.html

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

SAK!

[saganite]

Soulda had a nuclear power source. I have to wonder why NASA insists on solar power for these probes. A radioisotope thermoelectric generator would seem to be more effective in keeping a valuable piece of equipment like this operating longer.

[Ezekiel]

Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on Nov. 2. Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier sky, more clouds and colder temperatures...

Sums up state of the union. Will America fly out of the ashes?

[bubbacluck]

So when the sun comes back up next Martian summer, does Phoenix come back to life or is it just completely dead?

[doc1019]

Excellent question!

[cabojoe]

It is programmed to wake up if it survives the stresses of being frozen. From An interview with the Phoenix Mars Lander:

Phoenix: A lot of people ask why scientists are so pessimistic about me coming back once winter is over, since the rovers Spirit & Opportunity did so. Well, once winter sets in, I’m going to be covered in dry ice, or carbon dioxide ice. That stress will probably snap wires and possibly make my solar panels snap off. If that happens, I will definitely not be able to come back to life. However, if I do survive, my software is programmed to wake me up.

[jmcenanly]

the next Rover will be nuclear powered.The Mars science laboratory is scheduled to be launched next year features, among other things , a laser rock sampler.

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/index.html

[bubbacluck]

Thanks. I hope it comes back on line.

[Wiseghy]

I wouldn’t count on much more space exploration with Obama. I don’t think he’s a fan.

[doc1019]

Being to lazy to read the whole article … what would be the earliest date that we could expect the Phoenix Mars Lander to “wake up”, if it does?

[ari-freedom]

yeah but Farrakhan wants to find the aliens

[cabojoe]

Next martian summer. But don’t ask me when that is.

[Force of Truth]

What a waste of money.

[cabojoe]

October 2009 the Sun should be high enough to provide power.

[jmcenanly]

From the Phoenix epitaph competition:
"I was a better use of your tax dollars than a bank bailout."

[MikeD]

You are correct, which is why MSL will fly an RTG. RTGs are rare these days because of both political reasons (protestors and such trying to block the launch) and political reasons (lack of plutonium for the units). New Horizons almost missed launch because the plutonium wasn’t ready for flight. In fact, it launched with a less-than-optimal amount.