Chapter 5 of 5

A winter farewell

Last signal, winter frost and the Visions of Mars artifact

Told in Phoenix’s imagined voice · the events are real · source

Phoenix Lander Self Portrait on Mars, Vertical Projection
PhoenixAutumn took away my sunlight.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University
01Phoenix was built for the bright northern summer, when the Sun stayed above the horizon for weeks. As autumn deepened, the Sun dipped below the horizon each night and solar output fell. The mission curtailment ended with the last signal on November 2, 2008.
Winter covered the whole north.
02At this latitude, carbon-dioxide frost can blanket the landscape for months. HiRISE’s later image shows the hardware dust-covered and less colorful than in 2008, and the lander’s shadow suggests the west solar panel had likely collapsed under the frost.
This view combines hundreds of images taken during the first several weeks after NASA Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on an arctic plain on Mars.
PhoenixThe before-and-after shadow told the story.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University
03Comparing the changed shadow with the 2008 views helped HiRISE interpret what winter had done. The panel was not designed for that snow load, so the missing shadow became evidence about the season’s weight.
A library still waits on my deck.
04The Planetary Society’s Visions of Mars DVD was attached to Phoenix before launch. I did not carry a cockpit or a farewell voice, but I did carry an archive for future explorers — a quiet monument in Green Valley.

The big idea

Orbital before-and-after images can reveal what a silent lander experienced through winter.

Think about it

How can a shadow in a later photograph tell us about a winter no camera witnessed?

Fact file

Last signal
2 November 2008
NSSDCA records the last signal on this date; mission energy declined through the northern autumn.
Source ↗
After-winter image
ESP_017716_2485 / 7 May 2010
HiRISE interprets the missing west-panel shadow as likely collapse under winter CO2 frost.
Source ↗
Archival names
250,000 names
The Planetary Society describes the Visions of Mars DVD as containing 250,000 names; exact contents and lifetime are not asserted here.
Source ↗

In this chapter: Solar wings, batteries, UHF relay and HiRISE orbital imaging

Sources: Main record · Phoenix Lander after One Mars Year (ESP_017716_2485) · HiRISE · Visions of Mars · The Planetary Society

Machine illustration: AI-made. Photos: NASA Image and Video Library, credited on each picture.

Chapter 5 of 5

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