Emily Lakdawalla describes upcoming attempts to listen for transmissions from Phoenix and marvels at pictures released by NASA showing the lander at its polar site. As for whether contact will be made with the lander (as expected, it fell dormant last November when the available sunlight could not charge its communications gear), the answer its probably no, but the Mars Odyssey will try, beginning on January 18.
The image above was taken by the lander and appears to show a substrate of water ice removed by the lander's descent thrusters, also in view at the top of the image. Analysis of soil chemistry and minerals suggests a Martian past that may have been hospitable to microbial life, and might one day host life again.
Wayne
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute
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