Phoenix - End of Mission Options

[ustrax]

"We are going to attempt to contact Phoenix after the new year. Just next week we are planning to get together and finalize plans as to when. Not very likely we will hear anything back however!"

Hey! I was able to recover contact with Barry Goldstein today...who knows what might happen with Phoenix in January?

[centsworth_II]

I'm waiting for a Hi-Rise picture.

[tedstryk]

If they can contact it, which is of course doubtful, I hope that at the very least they can get it to send back the remaining data that was left stranded when contact was lost.

[infocat13]

That's why I still have phoenix running on http://www.dmuller.net/realtime/mars.php

will this click and make a sound ( twitter? ) when( if) she wakes up?

[ElkGroveDan]

If they can contact it, which is of course doubtful,

If the contact is successful there will be a chorus of "I knew it all along, I had a feeling" from the armchairs gathered round. So I'm going to remove myself from that crowd and state right now that I believe there is a fairly good chance that Phoenix WILL be operational when the sun comes back up again. Call me naive. Call me a foolish optimist, but I believe that sound reasoning has driven me toward that conclusion.

[nprev]

I'm gonna give her a 50/50 shot @ waking up for one reason: Don't think that we have a good understanding of the insulating properties of CO2/H2O calthrate frost, or even what the precise composition of the frost that covered Phoenix ultimately was. Might've eased her a bit more gently into peak low temp than otherwise, which in turn might have put less stress on electrical connections.

I hereby claim the coveted "Most Desperate Rationalization For Hoping That Phoenix Made It" award!

[ustrax]

Phoenix WILL be operational when the sun comes back up again.

But...were there any doubts?
I'm with you on this Dan, that winter ain't that harsh...

[Deimos]

With respect to data left stranded: it'd be nice to get, and I think that it is technically possible (ie, the issue is lander survival not loss of data despite a miracle wake up). As far as I recollect, all that was successfully acquired but left on board was Sol 148 MET data and sol 149 lidar data. I suppose there's a chance of access to half of the safe mode engineering data from the lazarus cycles (which half depends on which side of the electronics works first). And there may be some more engineering data on the last TEGA fault--but TEGA has no role in possible hospice mode science, so that might serve only as a cautionary tale for the future.

One small silver lining is that orbiter pass data volumes the last sol exceeded available flash storage--so everything commanded for downlink made it down. Phoenix was unlike MER in that respect, with little flexibility to defer downlink to a later sol.

[Poolio]

Is there any potential risk associated with trying to contact her too early? In other words, if they tried to contact her now and failed, could that compromise future attempts? The only thing I can think is that attempting contact before she's ready could trigger an inadvertent low-power fault by overburdening what's sure to be a tenuous power situation. This, of course, assuming she's able to respond at all. Is there any other reason that waiting until January is advised?

[Deimos]

I think the negatives are things that would happen anyway -- there will be many brownouts while trying to wake up, under any scenario with a good outcome. I'd guess a major factor is that the people involved have other mission critical or mission relevant jobs and you have to pull them away. Their time is a money cost, and an opportunity cost to a functioning or planned mission. So, you wait until the odds of getting something for their effort is significant.

[Poolio]

Thanks, Deimos. Operational costs... I wasn't thinking along those lines. I suppose that pulling together the personnel, facilities, and resources necessary just to attempt contact would have so much overhead as to make anything less than a dedicated effort not worthwhile.

[vikingmars]

I'm waiting for a Hi-Rise picture.

Me too, soo see if the solar panels have snapped under the ice load. Then, no more power available for her and the debate is over

[djellison]

There have been two since spring - but I've not had enough chance to really hunt for Phoenix in them.

[Guest_Zvezdichko_*]

Me too, soo see if the solar panels have snapped under the ice load. Then, no more power available for her and the debate is over

MRO with these safe modes isn't helpful for now

[punkboi]

Long-Silent Mars Lander is Broken and Dead, Photos Show

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/phoen...oto-100524.html

MRO images show that the solar panels on Phoenix were damaged by a heavy coating of dust and ice during the Martian winter, as predicted.

Oh, and tomorrow marks the 2-year anniversary since Phoenix successfully landed on the Red Planet