Phoenix - Mars landing preview webcast

[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by acdcfan259

i wonder if it's gonna end up lasting years longer then they expected like the other two rovers from '04.

Unfortunately, not. The winter in the arctic north of Mars is far more severe than that in the relatively "balmy" equatorial region where Dave's cars are driving about. Even his rovers need to find a nice sunny slope to get enough solar energy to keep alive during the local winter. Phoenix is landing in late-spring/early-summer which means the sun doesn't set (even at mid-day, it's not very high in the sky). Maybe Phoenix will last 120 days on the surface, for sure the sun will set for good on Phoenix about 5 months after landing. During the dark, cold winter Phoenix (and its surroundings) will be covered with carbon dioxide frost at a temperature of almost -200 degF.

Keep in mind that Phoenix is a lander, it can't drive around to explore different geologic features. It will, however, be able to dig progressively deeper into the Mars soil to search for water ice and other chemicals in the soil. If organic compounds are detected, this would be a major discovery regarding the habitability of Mars.

To learn more about the mission, checkout the Landing press kit available at:

Phoenix - JPL website

The pre-landing press conferences, to be shown on NASA TV (streaming as well), feature the scientists involved with the mission describing the research goals for Phoenix. The schedule for those broadcasts are here:

NASA TV: Phoenix Coverage