NASA announced today communications from the Phoenix Mars Lander have ceased.  The expected power drain on the spacecraft amid the onset of Martian winter has finally signaled the end of a very successful mission.  There’s just not enough sunlight to recharge the batteries.

The good news; NASA got more than the anticipated amount of scientific data.  More than 25,000 pictures, soil analysis and detailed weather observations from 152 days on Mars contributed to years of scientific data received by project teams for NASA, JPL and the University of Arizona.

So far scientists have discovered small concentrations of salts, a mildly alkaline soil and calcium carbonate, a marker of effects of liquid water.  The Phoenix Lander also coordinated with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to perform simultaneous ground and orbital observations of Martian weather.

The study continues into the history of the Martian environment, as the next Mars mission gets ready for launch; the Mars Science Laboratory.

View the latest pictures from the Phoenix Mars Lander at www.nasa.gov.

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Daylight savings time ends on November 2nd, so it’s time to “fall back.”  Set your clocks back one hour Saturday night (November first) so you’re synchronized with the time change.  The official time shift occurs at 2:00 am Sunday morning.

Reference Links:
www.WorldTimeZone.com

U.S. Naval Observatory Time

Time Keeping in Astronomy

Mission engineers at NASA’S Jet Propulsion Laboratory are looking for ways to conserve power onboard the Phoenix Mars Lander.  The spacecraft has far surpassed it’s lifetime expectancy by lasting into a fifth month of functionality.  It was only scheduled to last for three months after landing in the Martian polar region.

As autumn weather conditions deteriorate and temperatures fall, the Phoenix Mars Lander uses more power than it generates, so it’s only a matter of time before the robot explorer will expire.  It’s a real tribute to the engineering teams how well this spacecraft has exceeded it’s intended capacity for scientific exploration.

It’s no wonder the lander is starting to shut down.  The weather conditions on planet Mars in the northern hemisphere are pretty fierce, and getting more extreme as the planet shifts into it’s autumn phase.  Huge dust storms and atmospheric ice clouds block out sunlight to solar panels that generate power to spacecraft.  Extreme temperatures range from -141 degrees (F) overnight to -50 degrees (F) during the day.

NASA The Latest from Mars www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars

This is the most awesome multimedia site I’ve ever seen; it’s dedicated to NASA’s 50th Anniversary, and has animation, video and audio clips of historic moments in the past fifty years of space exploration…

www.nasa.gov/externalflash/50th/main.html

Explore the amazing fifty year history of American’s space program as NASA celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary…

www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/historyLetter.html

http://history.nasa.gov/

50 Years of NASA History (The Space Agency Press Release:)

NASA’s birth was directly related to the launch of the Sputniks and the ensuing race to demonstrate technological superiority in space. Driven by the competition of the Cold War, on July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, providing for research into the problems of flight within Earth’s atmosphere and in space.

After a protracted debate over military versus civilian control of space, the act inaugurated a new civilian agency designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  The agency began operations on Oct. 1, 1958.

And life on earth has never been the same since.