Mars Lander Faces Slow Death

Riding with Robots writes "It's the beginning of the end for the Phoenix Mars Lander. As winter approaches in the Martian arctic, NASA says it's in a 'race against time and the elements' in its efforts to prolong the robotic spacecraft's life. Starting today, mission managers will begin to gradually shut the lander's systems down, hoping to conserve dwindling solar power and thereby extend the remaining systems' useful life. 'Originally scheduled to last 90 days, Phoenix has completed a fifth month of exploration in the Martian arctic. As expected, with the Martian northern hemisphere shifting from summer to fall, the lander is generating less power due to shorter days and fewer hours of sunlight reaching its solar panels. At the same time, the spacecraft requires more power to run several survival heaters that allow it to operate even as temperatures decline.'"

Comments

NASA

[Sasayaki]

Honestly, as an Australian, it's great to see NASA in the news for something which can't be summarised as: "It blew up".

Needs more funding IMHO.

Re:what I do not understand.

[timmarhy]

see this is why NASA is putting robots on mars and you aren't. try freezing your dick to minus -225 and see if it's still functional next season.

ok sorry i'm being a little harsh there it's been a long day. solder will crack and oils will freeze and expand busting caps etc. that's why the lander might not make it through the winter.

Happy to help a fellow geek

[MichaelSmith]

...with Melbourne conversation starters.

• Don't you just hate rugby?
• Funny October we are having. Almost as hot as February.
• Washed your car lately? Of course not (water restrictions)
• Sorry you are missing the Melbourne Cup? Do you like boozing up in the Flemington car park?
• What did you think of the Grand Final? Sorry that bunch of wankers from Hawthorn won it. Thought we had seen the last of them.

Should be enough to get going. No boobytraps there. I promise.