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• THE LUNAR EXPLORER ARCHIVES
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A R C H I V E S

This image, taken on January, 26th, 2012, shows NASA's no-longer-active Phoenix Mars Lander Spacecraft after its second Martian Arctic Winter. The Lander has the same appearance as it did after its first Winter (see image from May 2010, if you wish, at the NASA Planetary Photojournal, frame PIA13158). The purpose of this view is to monitor Frost Patterns at Phoenix Landing Site (Vastitas Borealis Region), using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

In August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian Ice, Soil and Atmosphere. The Lander worked for two additional months before reduced Sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep it functioning. The solar-powered Lander, in fact, was not designed to survive through the dark and cold conditions of a Martian Arctic Winter.

The Lander is the "black spot" close to the center of the frame; the "white/blueish spots" are, most likely, residual snow (water-ice) patches.

This frame has been colorized in Absolute Natural Colors by (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mars, by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.