Go Go Phoenix

Spirit and Opportunity were planned as 90 day robots.
The both landed on Mars in January 2004 and have exceeded their
expected lifetimes many time over.
marsrover.nasa.gov/home/

Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomical Society

Spirit and Opportunity were planned as 90 day robots.
The both landed on Mars in January 2004 and have exceeded their
expected lifetimes many time over.
marsrover.nasa.gov/home/

Aren't they still working away on the surface..

At least with this mission of the polar cap of Mars...............we may finally get some kind of answers to the ultimate question.

I got a feeling when we get the answer to this question, we'll all be saying "how could we have ever though otherwise"

I think its a 90 day mission. After that it will be frozen solid as the tempeature drops during the Martian winter and frozen carbon dioxide starts to form on the lander. Not sure it will survive that.

Spirit and Opportunity have survived several Martian winters and are still working on the surface of the red planet. I suspect Phoenix will be around for a long time, these robots are very tuff guys.

Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomical Society

I think they are expecting Phoenix to possibly get burried under CO2 snow when the winter arrives

I think they are expecting Phoenix to possibly get burried under CO2 snow when the winter arrives

Yes, thats what I ment. I think Spirit and Opportunity are down near the equator, so they can surive the winter. But Phoenix is in the Martian arctic which get covered in frozen CO2 in the winter. I think they have 90 days till that happens. Of couse I could be wrong, but I think I heared this on the Skt at Night.