NASA Gives Up On Broken Mars Lander

But The Phoenix Probe Was No Failure — It Found Water On The Red Planet

(CBS/AP)  NASA on Monday declared an end to the Phoenix mission, some five months after the spacecraft became the first to land in Mars' arctic plains and taste water on another planet.

Mission engineers have not heard from the Phoenix lander in over a week. It fell silent shortly after a raging dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels. Although ground controllers will direct two satellites orbiting Mars to listen for Phoenix for several more weeks, the chances that it will respond are slim.

"We are actually ceasing operations, declaring an end of mission operations at this point," said project manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which managed the $475 million mission.

Phoenix's demise was predicted. Unlike its hardy twin rover cousins Spirit and Opportunity, which are approaching their fifth year near the red planet's more hospitable equatorial region, Phoenix's days were numbered from the outset. With sunlight waning and winter encroaching the arctic plains, scientists had said it was a matter of time before Phoenix would freeze to death.

Doug McCuistion, who heads the Mars exploration program at NASA headquarters, said people should view Phoenix's end as "an Irish wake rather than a funeral."

"It's certainly been a grand adventure," McCuistion said.

Since its successful landing in May, Phoenix has sent back a bonanza of scientific discoveries. Its first breakthrough was the confirmation of ice at its landing site. Previous measurements from space suggested there was frozen water lurking inches below the surface, but Phoenix became the first robotic probe to touch and taste it by melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments.

The Phoenix mission was not trouble-free. Early on, Phoenix was dogged with technical difficulties involving its tiny test ovens designed to sniff for traces of organic, or carbon-based compounds. Several oven doors failed to open all the way; the lander also had trouble getting the dirt into the ovens and a short circuit threatened to render the instrument useless.

Originally pegged to last three months, Phoenix lasted a little over five months, flexing its long arm to dig trenches in the soil and delivering dirt and ice to its onboard instruments to analyze.

By the end of its prime mission, Phoenix determined the soil was slightly alkaline, detected falling snow and found minerals that suggest the ice may have melted at some point, although the soil is currently bone-dry.

Phoenix grew considerably weak in recent weeks as the Martian weather deteriorated. It braved plunging surface temperatures and a swirling dust storm that drained its power. It last communicated with Earth on Nov. 2.

Scientists tried to look on the bright side.

"It's always a sad situation to not be able to communicate with it, but it lived beyond its warranty," said mission scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis.

Despite overcoming the oven troubles, Phoenix has yet to discover the elusive organic-based compounds essential for simple life forms to emerge. So whether the Phoenix landing site was habitable remains an open question.

The mission's chief scientist, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson, said the team will focus on analyzing the science results.

"I'm still holding out hope," Smith said.

The lander was built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Click Here to see the CNET photo gallery of the Phoenix Mars Lander dig.

[of11of]

jus2letuknow- I am in no way in opposition to exploration. I found the comment of sending cheese amusing, however if we did that and inadvertently sent a virus from earth to another place, and it rapidly destroyed the place, where would we be?
My hat is off the the research, development and deployment teams in NASA. WTG!!

[hdinsight]

To: MaharajaG -- Water is the basis for life. If Mars has supported life in the past, it could possibly support life in the future. Learning that an entire planet could be available for future development is like discovering another Earth.

[displeased]

Also, learning how the other planets died may help teach us how better ways to preserve ours.

[displeased]

to spend billions of dollars but just to find out if that Stupid planest Mars ever had water.... is so cruely terrifyingly waste of money and resources.
Posted by MaharajaG

Its called expanding our knowledge. We are not only looking for water but we''re looking for life and other clues that will help explain our existence. Learning more about other planets teaches us more about our planet. And solar system exploration may save our species well in the future.

Also, do you realize the benefits you currently enjoy as a result of space exploration?

And don''t worry, we''re already spending plenty of money on drugs/treatment and other research.

[hdinsight]

This CBS headline misleads the majority of minimally educated, science deficient Americans who simply read flashy titles & then form their voting opinions based on dollars amounts. Research is never a wise investment for the foolish or mentally anemic. Phoenix was a staggering accomplishment, successful in far-reaching ways. NASA "gives up" and "broken" Mars Lander would be like saying Columbus "gets lost." Your snarky headline undermines the significance of the achievement & creates negative opinion towards American''s most successful organization dedicated toward scientific observations & space exploration. It would appear that in order respect & appreciate NASA one must be able to comprehend the magnitude of the endeavor. PHOENIX SUCCESSFULLY LANDS ON MARS AFTER TRAVELING 423 MILLION MILES FROM EARTH AT A SPEED OF 74,000 miles per hour! PHOENIX DISCOVERS WATER, COMPLETES ALL OBJECTIVES! MAJOR MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND & SPACE EXPLORATION!

[of11of]

another commenter on another site suggested '' cheese''
. send it there. if there''s life it will grow.
hmm

[displeased]

Now NASA can throw a big party on the taxpayers $$$
Posted by kevinkkloste

Good, let them party. That''s a minor expense compared to the rest of the government''s wasteful spending.

[earache4]

"Mission engineers have not heard from the Phoenix lander in over a week."

Dam Somalian pirates!!!