The Phoenix Mars Lander is shutting down thanks to the long Martian winter:
The Phoenix Mars lander is dead.
Mission managers said Monday that they had not heard from the NASA spacecraft for a week and that they thought it had probably fallen quiet for good.
“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.”
With the onset of winter and declining power generated by the Phoenix’s solar panels, managers knew the lander would succumb soon, but had hoped to squeeze out a few more weeks of weather data.
But on Oct. 27, just after Phoenix finished its last major experiment analyzing Martian soil, an unexpected dust storm hit. The batteries, already low from running the experiment, ran out of energy.
The spacecraft first put itself into a low-energy “safe mode,” then fell silent. It revived itself on Oct. 30, but, with the dust still swirling, was never able to fully recharge its batteries. Each day, the solar panels would generate enough electricity for the spacecraft to wake up, but then the batteries drained again.
The last communication came on Nov. 2. Mr. Goldstein said the orbiting spacecraft would continue to listen for a few more weeks on the faint chance that the Phoenix defies their expectations.
Whether there will be life after the winter remains an open question:
In the coming months, when sunlight disappears entirely in the northern plains, temperatures will fall to minus-240 to minus-300 degrees Fahrenheit, and the Phoenix will become encased within carbon dioxide ice. When spring returns, NASA plans to try reviving the Phoenix again, but the expectation is that the spacecraft’s electronics will not survive the long, deep freeze.
Nonetheless, a job well done.
