Hoping for a possible resurrection, NASA on Monday will begin a three-day effort to listen for signs of life from the Phoenix lander, which has been programmed with a “Lazarus mode” to signal that it is alive. The lander is believed frozen to death near Mars’ north pole after spending five months probong soil and ice for signs of life.
Phoenix landed in May 2008 and spent five months digging trenches and conducting science experiments in the arctic plains. It confirmed the presence of ice and became the first spacecraft to touch and taste water on another planet. It last communicated with Earth in November 2008 as sunlight waned and temperatures dipped.
The plan calls for the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft to make regular passes over the Phoenix landing site and listen for a beep. If the three-legged, solar-powered lander fails to phone home as expected, NASA will hail it again next month when the sun is higher on the horizon.
The lander was not designed to withstand extreme Martian winters where temperatures average minus 195 degrees Fahrenheit, far chillier than Earth’s all-time coldest temperature - minus 129 degrees - recorded in Antarctica in 1983.
Since seasons on Mars last twice as long as Earth’s, scientists waited until Martian spring was underway in the northern latitudes to check on Phoenix, which has been blanketed in carbon dioxide frost.
It’s doubtful Phoenix’s solar panels can capture enough sunlight to charge its batteries. Even if it miraculously re-energizes itself, there’s no guarantee its science instruments and other electronics will still work, researchers say.
Casey Kazan
Source:
More information: Phoenix mission: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/index.php
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University
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