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- Touched down Sunday May 25, 2008The New York Times: Mars Lander Succumbs to Winter (November 10, 2008)
- NASA lost contact with lander in early November 2008The New York Times: Mars Lander Succumbs to Winter (November 10, 2008)
- Lander was only supposed to be operational for three monthsThe New York Times: Mars Lander Succumbs to Winter (November 10, 2008)
- Mission extended twiceThe New York Times: Mars Lander Succumbs to Winter (November 10, 2008)
- Only took seven minutes to land on Mars
- 55% of Mars missions have failed
- Cost of mission: $420-million
- Took 15 years to develop
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The Mars Phoenix lander touched down on Mars's north pole on May 25, 2008 and sent back data concerning the composition of Martian soil until it fell quiet in early November. The lander is believed to have died in the advancing Martian winter and will no longer be operational. During its mission, the lander discovered that a layer of ice existed below the surface of the planet's north pole.The New York Times: Mars Lander Succumbs to Winter (November 10, 2008)
What the Phoenix Found
The lander analyzed soil samples from shortly after its landing in May 2008 until October. The lander discovered a layer of ice beneath the Martian surface and also discovered carbonates and clays in the soil, suggesting that water had once pooled on the surface. The lander was not designed to look specifically for signs of life, but for the necessary precursors which could support life.NASA's Seven Minutes of Terror
About 14 minutes before the Mars Phoenix Lander touches down on the red planet, the vehicle separates itself from the cruise stage.When this happens, the communication with the vehicle is lost.
A parachute on the vehicle opened up to slow it down. Then it went on a three minute glide to the surface located 70 miles below.
It took approximately seven minutes between the lander hitting Mars's atmosphere and the landing.
The Phoenix hit the atmosphere at 13,000 miles per hour and, consequently, all the on board computers worked overtime to land the spacecraft safely. Mars exploration boffins call this short, critical period of time as the "seven minutes of terror".
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Mars Phoenix Lander Questions
What were the major findings of the NASAs Phoenix Mars Lander? 1 AnswerAll I know so far is the Phoenix Mars Lander found, mostly, those three things. The mission of Phoenix is to characterize the climate and geology of Mars and to... read more
How many moons does Mars have? 1 AnswerOur red neighbor Mars has two moons called Phobos and Deimos. They are very small - Phobos is 22 km and Deimos is 12.6 km in diameter and they are believed to ... read more
Does Mars have an active volcano? 2 Answershttp://www.solarviews.com/raw/mars/olympus.jpg Olympic Mons volcano. No it does not (barely). Current volcanoes in Mars are dormant extinct volcanoes. Olympic ... read more
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Mars Phoenix Lander Video
- YouTube: Flight of the Phoenix Mars Lander (Time: 7:20)
- YouTube: Mars Phoenix Lander Briefing1 (Time: 6:58)
- Jump Cut Video: Phoenix Details
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Snowfall on Mars? NASA's Phoenix Lander recorded it - Ars Technica http://tinyurl.com/ycf6f2p
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