The sun sets NASA Mars Lander
p2pnet news view | Cool:- The pic on the right shows NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander’s solar panel and the lander’s robotic arm with a sample in the scoop.
It was taken by the lander’s Surface Stereo Imager during Phoenix’s Sol 16 (June 10), or the 16th Martian day after landing, says NASA.
But it could be among the last.
Because the Phoenix Mars Lander has gone silent 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,” says NASA, going on:
“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.”
The data flow may have ended, but, “I’m confident we will be pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come,” says Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
NASA - Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet, November 10, 2008
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