NASA gives up frozen Mars Lander for dead

ComputerWorld ^ | Monday, May. 24, 2010 | ???

[Willie Green]

New images from Mars orbiter show 'severe' ice damage to robot's solar panels

Computerworld - NASA scientists have given up hope of finding any signs of life from the Phoenix Mars Lander, giving the robotic machine up for dead on the Martian surface.

NASA reported late on Monday that it did not detect any signals emanating from the Lander during last week's fourth and final effort to find out if it had survived the harsh and extremely frigid Martian winter.

Scientists also believe that an image taken this month by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows signs of "severe ice damage" to the Lander's solar panels.

The finding means that after collecting scientific data for five months on the Martian surface, the robotic rover is being given up for dead.

"The Phoenix spacecraft succeeded in its investigations and exceeded its planned lifetime," Fuk Li, manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, said in a statement. "Although its work is finished, analysis of information from Phoenix's science activities will continue for some time to come."

[Willie Green]

RIP

[El Sordo]

[wastedyears]

Space ping

[GeronL]

They were originally scheduled to last for a few months, not 6 years

[GeronL]

dang I was thinking of the rovers.

[Willie Green]

LOL!!!

[GeronL]

Scientists also believe that an image taken this month by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows signs of "severe ice damage" to the Lander's solar panels

What kind of resolution does that thing HAVE??

[jmcenanly]

Spirit is still going , although it is currently a stationary lander rather than a mobile rover, and is currently hibernating until Spring. It landed near the equator, wear the temperatures are relatively warm, that is Antarctic. Phoenix went through a Winter so cold that the CO2 in the atmosphere froze out. The resulting 'snow' is what took off the Western solar panel.

[LdSentinal]

I think this article refers to the Phoenix lander that arrived on Mars in May 2008, not Spirit and Opportunity

[mikrofon]

We need to get confirmation from an authoritative space official:

[JRandomFreeper]

How much resolution do you need to see an iceberg (dry ice) where the lander was? ;)

/johnny

[GeronL]

I got that, ergo post #5

[GeronL]

wow

[NormsRevenge]

Bummer.

[GeronL]

How cold did it get anyways??

[Yossarian]

What kind of resolution does that thing HAVE??

To give you an idea of that, here's the MRO's picture of the Rover Opportunity at Victoria Crater:

While it has great resolution, it doesn't need microscopic resolution to be able to come to the conclusion about panel damage. Think about it - the solar panels will reflect light, and damage will affect both the amount, shape, and direction of the reflected light. Those are observation parameters that I'm sure are well within the MRO's capabilities.

[NormsRevenge]

Phoenix mission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_%28spacecraft%29

$325 million

[bmwcyle]

Obama killed it.

[JRandomFreeper]

Brass monkeys, witches appendages, the atmosphere freezing out of the sky, you know... sweater weather for upstaters.

/johnny

[PA Engineer]

Just two weeks to go.