However, engineers now believe that is unlikely because of the worsening weather conditions on Mars. While the spacecraft's work has ended, the analysis of data from the instruments is in its earliest stages.
"Phoenix has given us some surprises, and I am confident we will be pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Image: This image from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm Camera shows material from the Martian surface captured by the Robotic Arm scoop during its first test dig and dump on the seventh Martian day of the mission. The test sample shown was taken from the digging area informally known as 'Knave of Hearts'.
Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute
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