Comments on: Northern Spring Approaches on Mars: Will Phoenix Phone Home?

By: Bravehart

Bravehart — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:20:47 +0000

One can only dream.
There is no hope, that there is any functional
power source left, or any working electronics
component.
Unless NASA has used specialy materials?
Rest asure no power cell is funtional!

By: Lawrence B. Crowell

Lawrence B. Crowell — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:52:50 +0000

I was under the impression the craft was destroyed by being entombed in water and CO_2 ice. I thought the craft would be reduced to pieces. It would indeed be fortuitous if it did start sending signals again.

By: Manu

Manu — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:16:48 +0000

I think I remember reading about the solar panels breaking under the CO2 ice weight.
But I'd sure love to hear from it again! I loved that mission.

By: Torbjorn Larsson OM

Torbjorn Larsson OM — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:16:46 +0000

… and of course it would be nice to hear the actual facts from those in the know, instead of echoing my ill remembered readings.

By: Torbjorn Larsson OM

Torbjorn Larsson OM — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:13:52 +0000

IIRC it's not the active components as such, or at least it shouldn't be – it was claimed that it is the card material for the electronics that goes brittle ("glassifies") at low temperatures. [I guess they used standard electronic cards, there is, or used to be, ceramics for this as well.]

Add in differential thermal shrinkage, I guess, and the stresses may snap the cards. At a guess that could happen anywhere, so there likely isn't any specific prediction of which systems goes first.

Here's for that Phoenix lives up to it's name yet again and arises from "martial" ashes as well as it did from the ashes of budget hell. [raises coffee cup]

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:51:33 +0000

I'd love to be able to see what condition the thing was in after the thaw. I think it would be a wee bit optimistic to hope for it to phone home after the deep freeze, but I guess you never know…

Was there ever any info out on what the most likely components to break first in the cold were?