Phoenix Down

~The Phoenix lander on Mars has stopped communicating with Earth, after five months of scientific exploration on the red planet. Originally planned to last only three months, Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25, 2008, setting down on the northern polar area of the planet.

The main objective of the mission was to analyze the history of water in the polar areas, which was known to exist from the observations of previous satellites but of which nothing was otherwise known. Some of its findings include:

• Verifying the presence of water ice and salts in martian soil
• Taking over 25,000 photographs, including some at the atomic level using a powerful microscope
• Analysis of the martian climate and weather patterns, including snow and whirlwinds
• Analysis of martian soil through Phoenix's on-board chemistry lab

Phoenix will be missed, but it was an important part of martian space exploration. By detecting water ice and providing humanity with information on the weather patterns of Mars, we know more about the planet that will be useful in an eventual manned landing in the future. Right now, I'm just glad that Phoenix wasn't hit by the Mars Curse. By the way, here's a link to a blog with some of the best pictures taken by Phoenix.