Phoenix Mars Lander.

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derekmcd

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>BTW....I saw it mentioned eaerlier in this thread that the surface was hard; but if you take a look at this image for instance, you'll see that apparantly som rocks were kicked up from their resting positions by trhust from the rocket engines. <br /> Posted by Philotas</DIV></p><p>I took some notes for the brief on posted them on page 34 or so.&nbsp; They mentioned they weren't really concerned how hard the soil is and the arm could handle anything except solid ice.&nbsp; They have another tool to scrape the ice and collect shaving to bake and get reading on the vapors.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>
 
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Philotas

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Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I took some notes for the brief on posted them on page 34 or so.&nbsp; They mentioned they weren't really concerned how hard the soil is and the arm could handle anything except solid ice.&nbsp; They have another tool to scrape the ice and collect shaving to bake and get reading on the vapors.&nbsp; <br />Posted by derekmcd</DIV><br /><br />Indeed; I read that. Looking forward to when the surface operations begin (and hoping for images showing the rest of our new Martian vista soon). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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derekmcd

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Indeed; I read that. Looking forward to when the surface operations begin (and hoping for images showing the rest of our new Martian vista soon). <br /> Posted by Philotas</DIV></p><p>Yeah... I haven't seen any new images on either site for a good 6 hours now.&nbsp; Curious why they wouldn't be uploading them for us.&nbsp; No doubt there's still a bunch of folks working around the clock on this.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>
 
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JonClarke

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<p>Now that Phoenix has landed, how about I close this thread and we continue in a new &nbsp;thread called "Phoenix surface mission"?</p><p>Jon</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>
 
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derekmcd

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Now that Phoenix has landed, how about I close this thread and we continue in a new &nbsp;thread called "Phoenix surface mission"?Jon&nbsp; <br /> Posted by jonclarke</DIV></p><p>Sounds good to me and makes sense.&nbsp; I'm sure Andrew wouldn't mind, but I don't speak for him of course.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>
 
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Philotas

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Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Now that Phoenix has landed, how about I close this thread and we continue in a new &nbsp;thread called "Phoenix surface mission"?Jon&nbsp; <br />Posted by jonclarke</DIV><br /><br />Go ahead. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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MeteorWayne

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

Signs of Spring on Mars

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... pring.html


A Martian orbiter has spotted seasonal footprints of spring creeping up on the red planet.

Seasonal polar caps formed from carbon dioxide have begun vaporizing or changing directly from solid ice to gas, and have kicked off a chain of events detected by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

"Spring on Mars is quite different from spring on Earth because Mars has not just permanent ice caps, but also seasonal polar caps of carbon dioxide, familiar to us on Earth as dry ice," said Candice Hansen-Koharcheck, an MRO scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif
 
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JonClarke

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

Why post this in a long dead thread? And why is this sticky?
 
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stupidlaminatedrock

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

JonClarke":bfeexizs said:
Why post this in a long dead thread? And why is this sticky?


Serouisly, why do you care? Why post what this? Just ignore the thread. Pheonix may not be dead. It WILL ATTEMPT TO PHONE HOME when conditions permit. Until the pheonix is verfied as dead, this thread should stay sticky. This was one of the greatest NASA missions ever launched.
 
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JonClarke

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

stupidlaminatedrock":2iu44sp9 said:
JonClarke":2iu44sp9 said:
Why post this in a long dead thread? And why is this sticky?


Serouisly, why do you care? Why post what this? Just ignore the thread. Pheonix may not be dead. It WILL ATTEMPT TO PHONE HOME when conditions permit. Until the pheonix is verfied as dead, this thread should stay sticky. This was one of the greatest NASA missions ever launched.

Why do I care? Because it is messy, and occupies space. This thread was not sticky before, and then for some reason it was placed up front, months after the mission ended. It is poor board management.

Phoenix is almost certainly dead. There are other threads to report results of this mission in as they become available.
 
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bearack

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

I'm surprised Jon.

There is still a glimmer of hope (very remote granted) that as soon as the solar arrays get some sun that there will be some activity. I don't think there is any hope of further research, I think it's mainly just hope that their technology was able to survive extreme conditions and operate after the thaw.

I personally think that is why this post was stickied until that last gleaming speculation has been diminished.
 
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JonClarke

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

It's certainly a good idea to listen when the time comes.

But I don't see that is worth making a thread sticky over months of inactivity, especially when it wasn't stickly before. It just clutters things up. Mind you the lack of activity on the forum these days means it probably does not matter so much.
 
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MeteorWayne

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

I'm going to unstick this thread. If anyone disagrees with that action, please post your comments here.
 
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MeteorWayne

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

This thread rises like a Phoenix due to a new article on SDC:

http://www.space.com/news/091216-phoenix-rising.html

They will start listening for any Lazerus mode signals in January

"""We start listening in January for signals from our lander," said Peter Smith, Phoenix Principal Investigator at the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "Our engineering team is quite curious to see how resilient the electronic systems are to the extreme cold of northern winter," he told SPACE.com.

Still, the odds don't look too promising.

Phoenix was not designed to withstand such a callous climate. The spacecraft was tested at minus 55 degrees Celsius (minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit), but a winter on Mars averages about minus 126 degrees Celsius (minus 195 degrees Fahrenheit).

"While the recovery of Phoenix is improbable given the severe conditions that it has endured throughout the winter, the science that can still be accomplished makes the mission worth continuing," Smith advised. ""
 
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tanstaafl76

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

May be a long shot but I'm keeping my phingers crossed!
 
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3488

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

It will be fantastic if the LAZARUS mode kicks in.

Wonder if it would be worth tryiong to hail Phoenix Mars Lander using Odyssey or Mars Express before then?

It would be quite something to see the landscape before it defrosts completely. The northern Martian Spring Equinox was approx six weeks ago now.

We'll see.

Andrew Brown.
 
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MeteorWayne

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

It has no energy currently so really wouldn't be worth hailing. The whole purpose of the Lazerus mode it to ping as soon as enough energy exists to send a signal, if what I recall is correct.
 
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nimbus

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

Did I read right that Phoenix was exposed to less CO2 ice than expected (IIRC submerged or nearly)? Does that make any significant difference in the odds of it being damaged over winter?
 
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MeteorWayne

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

That's the impression I got as well. While it wouldn't change the thermal stresses much (and it fact might make them worse...less insulation) which are brutal to the point that the molecular structure of the citcuit board changes, it probably reduced the chances of the solar panels being snapped off. I'm a bit more optimistic than I was going into winter.
 
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brandbll

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Re: Mars Phoenix Lander.

As soon as i heard this all i could think about is how if it sends a signal the first person in mission control does a little "IT'S ALLIVVVEEEE!!!" Frankenstein type bit. I don't see how you could stop yourself from doing it. I know i'd do it, but that's not saying much.

youngfrank.jpg
 
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Astro_Robert

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Good post on the Frankenstein comment.

I just read that NASA is getting ready to start some passive listening for the lander as daylight at the site is now equal to what it was when the lander stopped communicating. Further, that NASA will conduct a few active pings in a few months after things have warmed up further, but they are still downplaying the odds. With potential news coming, I just wanted to refresh the thread a little.
 
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MeteorWayne

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From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1001/11phoenix/


"Despite longshot odds, NASA will begin listening for radio signals from the Phoenix lander on Mars next week as a sheet of dry ice recedes with the onset of Martian spring...

Ground teams last heard from Phoenix in November 2008, when the sun began dipping below the horizon at the spacecraft's landing site on Mars' northern polar plains...

If Phoenix survived the extreme conditions, the lander should now be receiving enough sunlight to generate power for limited operations. If that is the case, NASA's Odyssey orbiter should be able to hear Phoenix dutifully attempting to call home.

"During these listening campaigns, we will turn on the Odyssey radio as we overfly the Phoenix site and listen for any signal being transmitted by the Phoenix lander," said Chad Edwards, chief telecommunications engineer for Mars programs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif...

Odyssey will first try to listen for Phoenix for three days beginning Jan. 18. The orbiter will fly over Phoenix 30 times next week, monitoring communications frequencies for signals during each pass.
 
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samkent

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Wouldn’t a photo from an orbiter tell us if the panels snapped off? We should know this to a high degree of certainty by now.
 
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