LOS ANGELES — NASA on Monday declared an end to the Phoenix mission, some five months after the spacecraft became the first to land in Mars’ arctic plains and taste water on another planet.
Mission engineers have not heard from the Phoenix lander in more than a week. It fell silent shortly after a raging dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels.
Phoenix’s demise was predicted. Unlike its hardy twin rover cousins Spirit and Opportunity, which are approaching their fifth year near the planet’s equatorial region, Phoenix’s days were numbered from the outset. Doug McCuistion, who heads the Mars exploration program at NASA headquarters, said people should view Phoenix’s end as “an Irish wake rather than a funeral.” The Associated Press
