spacetoday.net: Phoenix lander enters survival mode

Posted: Wed, Oct 29, 2008, 8:20 AM ET (1220 GMT)
Phoenix Mars lander illustration (Univ. of Arizona)

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft is starting to shut down some of its systems in a effort to extend the life of the mission by several weeks. The lander, which has operated for five months on the surface of Mars, two months longer than original plans, will soon consume more power than its solar panels can generate because of less sunlight at the landing site as fall approaches. To compensate, mission controllers shut down power to a heater in the lander's arm on Tuesday. The arm has been parked on a "representative patch" of Martian soil and won't be moved again. Other heaters on the spacecraft will be turned off in the coming weeks to reduce power demands while still allowing the spacecraft to operate and turn data from its instruments.