Monday, November 10, 2008

Farewell to the Phoenix Lander

One of the most successful missions ever to Mars has ended. The Mars Phoenix Lander lasted for five months, two months beyond its scheduled mission life, and returned a plethora of data on Mars, most famously about the presence of water ice just under the surface. The Martian winter diminished the power coming from the MPL's solar panels until the probe ceased to transmit. NASA will keep "listening" in case a lucky sunny spell enables the lander to "phone home," but scientists are more than happy with the data they have so far.
Congratulations to NASA and its contractor team for a great mission.

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