NASA ends efforts to contact Phoenix Mars Lander
Posted: Tue, May 25, 2010, 7:16 AM ET (1116 GMT)
One day before the second anniversary of its landing, NASA officials said they were ending efforts to resume contact with the Phoenix Mars Lander as a new image shows the spacecraft did not survive the winter unscathed. Project officials made several efforts earlier this year to make contact with the lander in the unlikely event that the lander had made it through the long winter in the planet's north polar region. No signals were received from the lander, and a new image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft suggests that the lander's solar panels were damaged, and possibly broken off entirely, by ice buildup during the winter. Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, for a 90-day mission; the spacecraft operated for five months, discovering a layer of ice just below the surface among other findings.
One day before the second anniversary of its landing, NASA officials said they were ending efforts to resume contact with the Phoenix Mars Lander as a new image shows the spacecraft did not survive the winter unscathed. Project officials made several efforts earlier this year to make contact with the lander in the unlikely event that the lander had made it through the long winter in the planet's north polar region. No signals were received from the lander, and a new image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft suggests that the lander's solar panels were damaged, and possibly broken off entirely, by ice buildup during the winter. Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, for a 90-day mission; the spacecraft operated for five months, discovering a layer of ice just below the surface among other findings.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, February 4
Viasat Awarded Task Order For Space Force Satcom Services
Aviation Week — 7:01 am ET (1201 GMT) A Fidelity fund is now valuing its stake in SpaceX at more than $2.7 billion
Business Insider — 6:59 am ET (1159 GMT) Elon Musk’s glaring conflicts of interest deserve more attention
The Hill — 6:57 am ET (1157 GMT) Airbus Hires Goldman for European Space Tie-Up to Rival Musk
Bloomberg News — 6:55 am ET (1155 GMT) Microbes in space: how bacteria could help sustain long-distance space travel
Nature — 6:52 am ET (1152 GMT) |
