Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: News

This photo released by NASA shows the edge of a solar panel on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, right, in a trench on the surface of Mars, where a sample of soil was taken by the lander. NASA announced Sept. 29 that the spacecraft discovered two minerals in the Martian soil that suggest interaction with water in the past.

As the UA-led Phoenix Mars Lander mission enters its final stages, it is clear that this mission has paved the way for further exploration of the Red Planet.

Carla Bitter, education and public outreach officer for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, said that changes in the Martian climate have begun to limit the capabilities of the Mars Lander and will soon lead to its termination.

"The problem is, it's getting really, really cold - it's starting to get really dark and it is a solar powered spacecraft, so that's a problem," Bitter explained. "We're getting the real last bit of science through, the last bit of juice out of all of our experiments and digging."

One of the most exciting recent discoveries actually had nothing to do with digging, but fell from the Martian sky, she said.

"It is really the first time a mission on the ground of Mars - or any planet, in fact - has seen snowfall, so that is kind of extraordinary," Bitter said. "Precipitation is falling but it is so dry that it does not actually make it to the ground."

Due to the decreasing amount of solar power available to the Mars Lander, the next two weeks are crucial in terms of getting as much research done as possible, Bitter said.

"About October 24 we will start to take the science instruments and the robotic arm offline, putting them sort of in their final resting place, their final configurations," she said.

Once these instruments are shut down, Bitter said the lander will begin to function as a sophisticated weather station.

"We will continue to do atmosphere … temperature (and) wind speed (observations) as well as some imaging for the period of time from maybe the week of October 25 hopefully (until) … midway through November when solar conjunction happens," Bitter said.

Continued...

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