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Phoenix winds down as shuttle prepares for liftoff
  
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By DANA BURKE
As astronauts prepared to launch to the International Space Station on Endeavour on Friday, NASA scientists bid farewell to the Phoenix Mars Lander, which ceased communication with Earth.
The robot’s fading signal was last received on Nov. 2, before shorter daylight, a dusty sky, increased clouds and colder temperatures ended Phoenix’s investigation of the Mars surface, which lasted three months longer than planned.
Although Phoenix can now rest easy, engineers still have most of their work ahead of them, as they have only just begun to analyze data sent home by the lander.
“Phoenix has given us some surprises, and I’m confident we will be pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come,” said Principal Investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona in Tuscon.
Among the lander’s findings were two types of ice deposits on the Mars surface, snow descending from clouds and data on temperature, pressure, humidity and wind.
“Phoenix provided an important step to spur the hope that we can show Mars was once habitable and possibly supported life,” said. Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters in Washington.
“Phoenix was supported by orbiting NASA spacecraft providing communications relay while producing their own fascinating science. With the upcoming launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, the Mars program never sleeps.”
The Mars Science Laboratory, a large, heavy rover scheduled to launch in the fall of 2009, will continue research to determine whether Mars was ever habitable.
The rover’s radioisotope power system, which will generate electricity from the heat of plutonium's radioactive decay, will allow the equipment to operate on Mars’ surface for a full Martian year, or 687 Earth days.
Closer to home, Endeavour’s STS-126 crew will be working hard to repair the space station and prepare it to house six crew members on long-term missions.
The flight will last for 15 days, with four planned spacewalks, and will deliver Expedition 18 Flight Engineer and Science Officer Sandra Magnus to the space station.
Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who launched to the station in May, will return to Earth on the upcoming shuttle mission.
This mission’s crew includes Mission Specialist Steve Bowen, the first submarine officer to be selected as an astronaut, Mission Specialist Shane Kimbrough, who was captain of the West Point baseball team in 1989 and Commander Chris Ferguson, who is also the drummer for Max Q, an astronaut rock & roll band. No word on whether Ferguson will get some practice time in orbit.
Pilot Eric Boe has logged more than 4,000 hours in 45 different aircraft, and Mission Specialist Donald Pettit has spent more than 161 days in space with 13 spacewalk hours.
Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, the lead spacewalker for STS-126, will conduct three spacewalks on the upcoming mission.
Cargo to be delivered to the space station by Endeavour includes enough equipment to double the crew size from three to six members by spring of 2009.
The shuttle will deliver additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a galley, and oxygen generator, a wastewater recycling device and resistance exercise equipment.
Exterior work on the space station included inspecting and lubricating the station’s modules and prepare the Japanese Kibo module for the installation of an exposed facility in 2009.
STS-126 will be docked during the space station’s 10th anniversary on Nov 20.
The robot’s fading signal was last received on Nov. 2, before shorter daylight, a dusty sky, increased clouds and colder temperatures ended Phoenix’s investigation of the Mars surface, which lasted three months longer than planned.
Although Phoenix can now rest easy, engineers still have most of their work ahead of them, as they have only just begun to analyze data sent home by the lander.
“Phoenix has given us some surprises, and I’m confident we will be pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come,” said Principal Investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona in Tuscon.
Among the lander’s findings were two types of ice deposits on the Mars surface, snow descending from clouds and data on temperature, pressure, humidity and wind.
“Phoenix provided an important step to spur the hope that we can show Mars was once habitable and possibly supported life,” said. Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters in Washington.
“Phoenix was supported by orbiting NASA spacecraft providing communications relay while producing their own fascinating science. With the upcoming launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, the Mars program never sleeps.”
The Mars Science Laboratory, a large, heavy rover scheduled to launch in the fall of 2009, will continue research to determine whether Mars was ever habitable.
The rover’s radioisotope power system, which will generate electricity from the heat of plutonium's radioactive decay, will allow the equipment to operate on Mars’ surface for a full Martian year, or 687 Earth days.
Closer to home, Endeavour’s STS-126 crew will be working hard to repair the space station and prepare it to house six crew members on long-term missions.
The flight will last for 15 days, with four planned spacewalks, and will deliver Expedition 18 Flight Engineer and Science Officer Sandra Magnus to the space station.
Expedition 17 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who launched to the station in May, will return to Earth on the upcoming shuttle mission.
This mission’s crew includes Mission Specialist Steve Bowen, the first submarine officer to be selected as an astronaut, Mission Specialist Shane Kimbrough, who was captain of the West Point baseball team in 1989 and Commander Chris Ferguson, who is also the drummer for Max Q, an astronaut rock & roll band. No word on whether Ferguson will get some practice time in orbit.
Pilot Eric Boe has logged more than 4,000 hours in 45 different aircraft, and Mission Specialist Donald Pettit has spent more than 161 days in space with 13 spacewalk hours.
Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, the lead spacewalker for STS-126, will conduct three spacewalks on the upcoming mission.
Cargo to be delivered to the space station by Endeavour includes enough equipment to double the crew size from three to six members by spring of 2009.
The shuttle will deliver additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a galley, and oxygen generator, a wastewater recycling device and resistance exercise equipment.
Exterior work on the space station included inspecting and lubricating the station’s modules and prepare the Japanese Kibo module for the installation of an exposed facility in 2009.
STS-126 will be docked during the space station’s 10th anniversary on Nov 20.
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