Slashdot Mirror
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Killed By Ice
coondoggie writes "NASA officially ended its Phoenix Mars Lander operation today after a new image of the machine showed severe ice damage to its solar panels, and repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft had failed. 'Apparent changes in the shadows cast by the lander are consistent with predictions of how Phoenix could be damaged by harsh winter conditions. It was anticipated that the weight of a carbon-dioxide ice buildup could bend or break the lander's solar panels. [Michael Mellon of the University of Colorado] calculated hundreds of pounds of ice probably coated the lander in mid-winter.'"
At first I thought the troll mod was appropriate, but then I thought of all the people who are not familiar with the environment on Mars who might read the first part of the summary / article and think that "ice" refers to water ice, and I then realised that yes, Mikkeles has a point. At least call it dry ice.