The Mars Phoenix Lander mission seems to have landed in trouble. It has been a week since the managers heard anything about it.
“At this time, we’re pretty convinced that the vehicle is no longer available for us to use,” said Barry Goldstein, the project manager. “We’re actually ceasing operations, declaring an end to mission operations at this point.” – It was expected that it would die but the managers were hoping that they could keep it alive for some more time as winters set in. It is invaluable as it gives inputs about weather and helps them to build up their data.
Oct 27 was a bad day for the spacecraft. The battery was already low and a dust storm hit it/ it was enough to make it run out of energy. It went into safe mode and since then had not really charged
The last communication was on Nov. 2. The $428 million mission, started in May originally scheduled to last three months, was extended twice
“I’m just thrilled to death what we’ve been able to do here,” said Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona, the mission’s principal investigator. The spacecraft has managed to accomplish a lot. The Martian soil was clumpy and it was tough to get samples.
Dr. Smith says about a sample “We got it all the way up to the instrument and even tried pressing it down but it wouldn’t go in.”
The Phoenix however did discover a lot of things.. It confirmed a layer of ice not far below the surface, some carbonates and clays, which suggest that liquid water may have be present within the past few millennia. It also took 25,000 photographs, including panoramas of the landing and microscopic images of dust particles.
“It’s really an Irish wake, not a funeral that we’re looking forward to,” said Douglas McCuiston, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters. “NASA got what it wanted out of this mission.”
