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NASA is giving the longfrozen Phoenix Mars Lander one lastchance to send a signal, beep or any pointer that it has survived the harshMartian winter with sufficient of the systems total to phone home.
From Monday to Friday, NASAs Mars Odyssey orbiter circlingthe red world will attend for the third time in 4 months to see if the PhoenixMars Lander has come behind to hold up after experiencing a Martian arcticwinter it was not written to survive.
The initial dual listening campaigns by the orbiter, conductedin Jan and February, didnt listen to any signs of hold up from the lander, whichstudied the aspect of the Martian arctic and confirmedthe participation of H2O ice only next the tip aspect layer.
Images taken by NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter inFebruary show the light disappearance of aspect ice with the conflict ofMartian spring.
Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, and operatedsuccessfully in the Martian arctic for about dual months longer than the plannedthreemonth mission. But once the object and temperatures forsaken and winter setin, the booster didnt have sufficient appetite to keep going. The lander wentsilent in Nov 2008.
Phoenix was not written to ward off the intensely low temperatures and the ice bucket ofthe Martian arctic winter. But in the doubtful eventuality that the lander"scomponents survived and the booster perceived sufficient appetite from the risingspring sun, mission managers programmed on listening for any signals thatPhoenix was waking itself up.
While Odyssey listens for Phoenix during 60 overflights nextweek, the Phoenix site will be in aroundtheclock sunshine, maximizing theamount of object accessible to the spacecrafts solar panels, should they havesurvived the winter.
Images:Phoenix on Mars, MartianIceBestMars Landings of All TimeSpecialReport: Highlights of the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission| _______________________ |
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