Still No Signals From Mars Lander, Prof Says

Attempts to contact and restart the Phoenix Mars Lander, not heard from since the end of its successful five-month mission in October 2008, are still being made. A final series of attempts may occur next month, but the prospects appear anything but rosy, says a Texas A&M University researcher who was in charge of its camera.

Mark Lemmon, associate professor of atmospheric sciences who has worked with Phoenix and the still-operating twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, does not expect to hear from Phoenix again. But it is possible Phoenix survived the severe Martian winter, which dwarfs anything seen on Earth temperatures fall to minus-180 degrees for months at a time. Still, Lemmon says, he is ready to help take more pictures and analyze more data if the Lander can be restored to life.

Read More:
http://tamunews.tamu.edu/2010/02/16/still-no-signal-from-mars-lander/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• water
• Mars
• Phoenix Lander
• NASA
• space
• aerospace
• Mark Lemmon
• Texas A&M University