Phoenix Lander

NASAs Proposed ‘InSight’ Lander would Peer to the Center of Mars in 2016

March 2, 2012

Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter A Phoenix-like lander that would mine the deepest hole yet into Mars- to a depth of 5 meters – and unveil the nature of the mysterious deep interior and central core of the Red Planet is under consideration by NASA for [...]

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Salty Soil on Mars Could Be Slurping Water from the Atmosphere

February 28, 2012

It happens every summer in humid air: the salt in your salt shaker clumps together as the salt draws in the water from the air. Researchers have found this happens even in the frigid but dry McMurdo Dry Valley in Antarctica, a cold, polar desert. The sandy, salty soils there are frequently dotted with moist [...]

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Phoenix Lander Still Visible in New HiRISE Images from Mars

February 8, 2012

I spy Phoenix! said the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter! This new image acquired on January 26, 2012 shows that the Phoenix lander and its backshell are still visible from Mars’ orbit. The parachute, seen in earlier images, is probably about 130 meters south of where this picture ends. This is one [...]

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600 Million Year Drought Makes Life on Surface of Mars Unlikely

February 6, 2012

Mars is often referred to as a desert world, and for good reason – its surface is barren, dry and cold. While water was abundant in the distant past, it has long since disappeared from the surface, although ice, snow, frost and fog are still common. Other than liquid brines possibly trickling at times, all [...]

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Phoenix Mars Mission

June 7, 2011

The Phoenix Mars Mission is a Scout Class mission sponsored by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, the University of Arizona and the Lockheed Martin Space Systems. The mission was a Mars lander mission and was launched August 2007. The mission is now defunct after the lander recently ceased operation and communication with Earth. While exploration of [...]

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