Phoenix Mars Landing Thread

[TSPenguin]

So how succesfull was the mission?
It got there and landed well, found some interesting traces and wittnessed sublimation.
And that is it?!?

 

[pete.dakota]

found some interesting traces and wittnessed sublimation.

Hardly things that should be downplayed. NASA knew Phoenix would only survive the Summer and gambled on making significant discoveries before the lander became inoperable - and it did make those discoveries.

Just because it can't pull a multi-year stint like the rovers, doesn't make the mission redundant.

 

[TSPenguin]

Sorry, I didn't want to play it down. Those are very very interesting and important discoveries.
My question was more aimed at knowing if they fullfilled just the mission or if they found something that they didn't anticipate at all.

 

[Arrowstar]

Hardly things that should be downplayed. NASA knew Phoenix would only survive the Summer and gambled on making significant discoveries before the lander became inoperable - and it did make those discoveries.

Just because it can't pull a multi-year stint like the rovers, doesn't make the mission redundant.

Out of curiosity, is there no hope of reviving Phoenix after the martian winter ends?

 

[pete.dakota]

Out of curiosity, is there no hope of reviving Phoenix after the martian winter ends?

As DaveS stated, no. There's zero chance.

 

[Arrowstar]

Ah, missed that post. Shame. Twas a good probe!

 

[DaveS]

As DaveS stated, no. There's zero chance.

Yep. Without heaters the circuit boards will ice up pretty quickly and snap off into bits and pieces. And the solar arrays will snap off from the main spacecraft body, so there goes your only power generation source.

Even now, the temperatures during the night dips into low cryogenic temperatures, close enough to preserve LN2.

 

[Missioncmdr]

I wonder if NASA is going to try to contact Phoenix after the winter anyway.

Even though its mission is over, it has made some great discoveries and outlived its 90 sol warranty.

 

[Lunar_Lander]

Well then. Phoenix indeed made some great discovieries, but I also find it sad that it's coming to it's end now.

Why, by the way, are the new landers all made for "disposal"? I mean, Pathfinder died when it's battery froze in Winter. Now Phoenix isn't supposed to withstand Winter too.
Back on Viking they had installed RTGs for power and heating, there NASA had really planned for a long-duration mission. And I believe, hadn't they made the mistake with the antenna, the Viking 2 Lander would be still active today.

Why sending a multi-million dollar probe there for just one summer?

 

[Missioncmdr]

Well then. Phoenix indeed made some great discovieries, but I also find it sad that it's coming to it's end now.

Why, by the way, are the new landers all made for "disposal"? I mean, Pathfinder died when it's battery froze in Winter. Now Phoenix isn't supposed to withstand Winter too.
Back on Viking they had installed RTGs for power and heating, there NASA had really planned for a long-duration mission. And I believe, hadn't they made the mistake with the antenna, the Viking 2 Lander would be still active today.

Why sending a multi-million dollar probe there for just one summer?

You have to understand that Phoenix landed im Mars' polar regions. No other probe has done that before.

They probably chose not to use RTGs becuase there is a lot of red tape to go through for something like that.

 

[pete.dakota]

To have the best chance of finding life-signs, Phoenix had to land on a polar region. It was planned to touch down at the beginning of Mars' summer so I would have the longest possible time to do science. As for it being designed to last longer: this would have required heaters to keep its components warm during the winter. Heaters needs power, and with no Sun to fuel the solar panels during the winter, the heaters would die.

The only way I can think they could have designed it to survive the winter would be either a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or a massive solar arrays charging HUGE batteries for the science months and hoping they had enough power to keep the heaters running through the dark ones.

 

[DaveS]

Just so that you know: Phoenix M. Lander died recently. There's a media teleconference in 20 minutes(4 pm EST) about it:

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EST today, Monday, Nov. 10, to discuss the status of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Phoenix has been operating on the Red Planet for more than five months.

Participants will be:
-- Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
-- Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson
-- Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio


-----Posted Added-----


They have declared EOM for Phoenix. They haven't heard from it since Nov.5 I believe Barry said.


-----Posted Added-----


Correction: They last heard from Phoenix Nov. 2.

 

[Donamy]

Maybe they need either Spirit or Opportunity to go give it a kick.

 

[DaveS]

Maybe they need either Spirit or Opportunity to go give it a kick.

Would kill them too as they're solar-powered. It's going to get very dark and very cold at the Phoenix landing site very soon.

 

[astrosammy]

RIP Phoenix, was a nice time. I remember the long night when you landed and I only had 2 hours of sleep.

 

[Arrowstar]

Indeed, RIP Pheonix. You were a great little lander. Hail Probe!

 

[Andy44]

This was on public radio today, as well. They said that the machine will essentially be encrusted in CO2 ice over the winter. So long, Phoenix, and good luck to your ops team in their search for a new program. Good job, guys and girls.

 

[Talon1]

Hmm, it's really sad that Pheonix went to sleep for good. I just hope that they would still have a channel open for Pheonix just in case it does wake up again.....

 

[caningo]

From BBC:

Nevertheless, Nasa says its Mars Reconnaissance and Odyssey satellites will continue to listen for Phoenix for a further three weeks, until Solar Conjunction, when the Sun moves between Mars and Earth.

Phoenix had risen from the ashes of two previous failures.

Maybe there is hope of hearing from it again?

Nevertheless, Phoenix has given us a wealth of information and has served her country well.

 

[Kyle]

Its still amazing that Spirit and Opportunity have last so long too, may phoenix rest in peace.