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Journey of Phoenix on the Red Planet
November 11, 2008
Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on November 2. Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier sky, more clouds and colder temperatures as the northern Mars summer approaches autumn.
The mission, the agency said, exceeded its planned operational life of three months to conduct and return science data. The project team will be listening carefully during the next few weeks to hear if Phoenix revives and phones home.
Image: This view from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the first impression -- dubbed Yeti and shaped like a wide footprint -- made on the Martian soil by the robotic arm scoop on the sixth Martian day of the mission. Touching the ground is the first step toward scooping up soil and ice and delivering the samples to the lander's onboard experiments.
Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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