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Phoenix Mars Lander

This image provided by NASA shows a view of the north polar ice cap on Mars taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. New observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought. The findings suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface, and any possible organisms living in that water, would be located deeper than scientists had suspected. "We found that the rocky surface of Mars is not bending under the load of the north polar ice cap," said Roger Phillips of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. "This implies that the planet's interior is more rigid, and thus colder, than we thought before," he said. (AP Photo/HO - NASA) This undated photo released by NASA shows an artist's rendering of the Phoenix lander on the arctic plains of Mars just as it has begun to dig a trench through the upper layer of soil. The polar water ice cap is shown in the distance. (AP Photo/NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Corby Waste) JoJo Aguilar, a Mars exploration team member, dusts a full-scale model of the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) An undated photo released by NASA and taken from the European Space Agency's Internet side shows an artist's rendering of the NASAs Martian lander 'Phoenix' which is according to ESA scheduled to land on the Red Planet in the early morning hours on Monday, May 26, 2008. ESA's Mars orbiter 'Mars Express' will monitor the 'Phoenix' lander's descent and relay and record the stream of data while the lander flies through the Mars atmosphere. The 'Phoenix' mission will investigate the Martian environment and will look beneath the frigid, arctic landscape in search of conditions favorable to past or present life. (AP Photo/NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, C. Waste) Members of the Mars exploratory team, left-to-right, Fuk Li, Peter Smith, Barry Goldstein and Ed Sedivy, hold a news conference to discuss the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) Peter Smith and Barry Goldstein, members of the Mars exploratory team, hold a news conference to discuss the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager, addresses reporters during a news conference to discuss the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) Ed Sedivy, Phoenix spacecraft manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, addresses reporters during a news conference to discuss the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) Fuk Li, manager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program, speaks during a news conference to discuss the Phoenix lander Thursday, May 22, 2008, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The lander will reach Mars on Sunday, May 25, to begin a three-month mission studying an arctic site on the Red Planet. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) This fully working Phoenix Mars Lander, located in the University of Arizona's Science Operations Center north of the campus in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, May 7, 2008, is used for testing by the mission scientists. If the lander makes a successful touchdown in Mars' northern polar region, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will turn over scientific control to researchers at the university's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. (AP Photo/John Miller) Michael Drake, director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, poses in front of a photographic mural of a Venus landscape in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, May 14, 2008. If the Phoenix Mars Lander makes a successful touchdown in Mars' northern polar region, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will turn over scientific control to the Tucson lab's researchers. (AP Photo/John Miller) A full scale model of the Phoenix Mars Lander is displayed in the University of Arizona's Science Operations Center just north of the campus in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, May 7, 2008. If the lander makes a successful touchdown in Mars' northern polar region, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will turn over scientific control to researchers at the university's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. (. (AP Photo/John Miller) This fully working Phoenix Mars Lander, located in the University of Arizona's Science Operations Center north of the campus in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, May 7, 2008, is used for testing by the mission scientists. If the lander makes a successful touchdown in Mars' northern polar region, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will turn over scientific control to researchers at the university's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. (AP Photo/John Miller) Retransmission of a graphic originally posted May 16, 2008; graphic explains the components of the Phoenix Mars Lander; 2c x 3 3/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 85.7 mm Control room members, from left, Barry Goldstein, Ed Sedivy and Peter Smith celebrate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. as they get word that NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander landed safely on Mars near its north pole, Sunday, May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Lawrence K. Ho, Pool) Members of the control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., are seen reacting on a television monitor in the press room as they get word that NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander landed safely on Mars near its north pole, Sunday, May 25, 2008. The reflected image in the screen at left is a picture of one of Jupiter's moons on the wall of the press room. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Peter Smith, principal investigator, University of Arizona, points to his hat at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. after they received word that NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander landed safely on Mars near its north pole, Sunday, May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Lawrence K. Ho/Pool) This image provided by NASA shows a portion of the Phoenix Mars Lander after it landed on Mars on Sunday, May 25, 2008. The spacecraft touched down in the northern polar region of the planet after a 422 million-mile flight from Earth. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows a portion of the Phoenix Mars Lander after it landed on Mars on Sunday, May 25, 2008. The spacecraft touched down in the northern polar region of the planet after a 422 million-mile flight from Earth. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows a portion of the Martian landscape seen from the Phoenix Mars Lander after it landed on the planet on Sunday, May 25, 2008. The spacecraft touched down in the northern polar region of the planet after a 422 million-mile flight from Earth. (AP Photo/NASA) Graphic explains the components of the Phoenix Mars Lander This image provided by NASA, JPL-Caltech and the University of Arizona shows a portion of the Martian surface seen from the Phoenix Mars Lander after it landed on the planet on Sunday, May 25, 2008. The spacecraft touched down in the northern polar region of the planet after a 422 million-mile flight from Earth. (AP Photo/NASA, JPL-Caltech, University of Arizona) This May 26, 2008 approximate-color image provided by NASA captured by the Phoenix Mars Lander shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spent its first full day in the Martian arctic plains checking its instruments in preparation for an ambitious digging mission to study whether the site could have once been habitable. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This Sunday May 25, 2008 photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona, shows a polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. This is an approximate-color image taken shortly after landing Sunday by the spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager, inferred from two color filters, a violet, 450-nanometer filter and an infrared, 750-nanometer filter. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suspended from its parachute as it lands on Mars on Sunday May 25, 2008 as seen by a telescopic camera in orbit. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows the surface of the northern polar region of Mars from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Sunday May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows a view of Martian northern polar region made by the Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. (AP PHoto/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows a view of Martian northern polar region made by the Surface Stereo Imager Left on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. (AP PHoto/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows a view of Martian northern polar region made by the Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. (AP PHoto/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) An enhanced-color image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera shows the Phoenix landing area viewed from orbit. The spacecraft appears more blue than it would in reality. From top to bottom are the Phoenix lander with its solar panels deployed on the Martian surface, the heat shield and bounce mark the heat shield made on the Martian surface, and the top of the Phoenix parachute attached to the bottom of the back shell. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona. ) This photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona shows a polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth. This is an approximate-color image taken shortly after landing Tuesday May 25, 2008 by the spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager, inferred from two color filters. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This approximate color image provided by NASA shows the view obtained on sol 2 (Tuesday May 27, 2008) by the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) on board the Phoenix lander. The view is toward the northwest, showing polygonal terrain near the lander and out to the horizon. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University) The Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander acquired the individual images that are combined into this one view, provided by NASA, Thursday, May 29, 2008. The spacecraft successfully freed its 8-foot robotic arm from the restraints that kept it folded up and protected from vibrations during the launch and landing, scientists said Thursday. Preparations are now under way to partially flex the arm. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) The Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander acquired the individual images that are combined into this one view, provided by NASA, Thursday, May 29, 2008. The spacecraft successfully freed its 8-foot robotic arm from the restraints that kept it folded up and protected from vibrations during the launch and landing, scientists said Thursday. Preparations are now under way to partially flex the arm. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This photo provided Friday, May 30, 3008 by NASA shows an image from the Phoenix Mars Lander's Stereo Surface Imager of the unit's arm, lower right, in its protective covering called the biobarrier. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This image provided by NASA and taken by Robotic Arm Camera aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows what is believed to be exposed ice under the lander on Saturday May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows an impression resembling a footprint left on Mars by the Phoenix lander's robotic arm on Saturday May 31, 2008. Touching the ground is the first step in a series of actions toward scooping up soil and ice and delivering the samples to the lander's onboard experiments. (AP Photo/NASA) The Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander acquired the individual images that are combined into this one view, provided by NASA, Thursday, May 29, 2008. The spacecraft successfully freed its 8-foot robotic arm from the restraints that kept it folded up and protected from vibrations during the launch and landing, scientists said Thursday. Preparations are now under way to partially flex the arm. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) In this photo released by NASA Tuesday, June 3, 2008, a view from the Robotic Arm Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows partial opening of doors to one of the tiny ovens of the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. Near the center of the image, the partial opening of a pair of doors reveals a screen over the opening where a soil sample will be delivered. The door to the right is fully opened and the one to the left is partially deployed. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL/Caltech/University of Arizona) This image released Wednesday, June 4, 2008, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm camera shows material from the Martian surface captured by the robotic arm scoop on Tuesday June 3, 2008. NASA's Phoenix lander begins long-awaited exploration of Mars' north pole region by clawing into the permafrost to search for evidence of the building blocks of life. (AP Photo/NASA/Caltech/JPL/Univ. of Arizona/Max Planck Institute) This photo provided by NASA shows the area where the Robotic Arm took a second scoop full of soil and revealed a whitish material at the bottom of the dig area informally called the "Knave of Hearts". The Robotic Arm's scraping blade left a small horizontal depression above where the sample was taken. The Science Team is debating whether this is a salt layer or the top of an ice table. The image was taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on the ninth day of the Mars mission, or Sol 9, (June 3, 2008) aboard the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University) This image provided by NASA was acquired at the Phoenix landing site on day 11 of the mission on the surface of Mars, or Sol 10, after the May 25, 2008, landing. (AP Photo/NASA) This image released by NASA taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Thursday, June 5, 2008, shows the Robotic Arm scoop containing a soil sample poised over the partially open door of the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer's number four cell, or oven. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University) This image provided by NASA shows Martian soil retrieved by the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander and released onto a screened opening of the lander's tiny testing oven Friday, June 6, 2008. The soil failed to reach the instrument and scientists said Saturday they will devote a few days to trying to determine the cause. (AP Photo/NASA) In this photo released by NASA and taken by the Phoenix Mars Lander's surface stereo imager on Saturday, June 8, 2008, the two trenches dug by Phoenix's robotic arm are shown on the surface of Mars. Soil from the right trench, informally called "Baby Bear," was delivered to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer or TEGA, on June 6. The following several days included repeated attempts to shake the screen over TEGA's oven number 4 to get fine soil particles through the screen and into the oven for analysis. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL/CalTech) This image released by NASA and taken by the Optical Microscope on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows soil sprinkled from the lander's Robot Arm scoop onto a silicone substrate. The substrate was then rotated in front of the microscope. This is the first sample collected and delivered for instrumental analysis onboard a planetary lander since NASA's Viking Mars missions of the 1970s. It is also the highest resolution image yet seen of Martian soil. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) This color image released by NASA and acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Friday, June 13, 2008, shows one trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" after two digs on June 12, by Phoenix's Robotic Arm. Shallow trenches excavated by the lander's backhoe-like robotic arm have turned up specks and at times even stripes of mysterious white material mixed in with the clumpy, reddish dirt. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL/CalTech) This image provided by NASA shows the before, left, and after images of possible sublimation of ice in the trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" over the course of four days. The dice-size crumbs of bright material in the bottom left of the the trench in the left image taken June 15, 2008 have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed, right image taken June 19, 2008 by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University) This combination of images provided by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sunday, June 15, left, and Wednesday, June 18, 2008, right, or Sols 20 and 24, shows sublimation of ice in the trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" over the course of four days. In the lower left corner of the left image, a group of lumps is visible. In the right image, the lumps have disappeared. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL/CALTECH) Why is Mars two-faced? Scientists say fresh evidence supports the theory that a monster impact punched the red planet, leaving behind perhaps the largest gash on any heavenly body in the solar system. Today, the Martian surface has a split personality. The southern hemisphere of Mars is pockmarked and filled with ancient rugged highlands. By contrast, the northern hemisphere is smoother and covered by low-lying plains. This photo released by NASA shows four Wet Chemistry Laboratory units, part of the microscopy, electrochemistry and conductivity analyzer, instrument on board the Phoenix Mars Lander on Aug. 4, 2007, before the Phoenix was launched into space. The Phoenix lander's first taste test of soil near Mars' north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL/CalTECH/University of Arizona) This artists rendition released by Jeffery Andrews-Hanna of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shows an impact on the surface of Mars. Scientists say fresh evidence supports the theory that a monster impact punched the red planet, leaving behind perhaps the largest gash on any heavenly body in the solar system. (AP Photo/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jeffery Andrews-Hanna) This image provided by NASA shows an area located west of the Nili Fossae trough on Mars, one of the proposed landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory. The image was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The dark terrain is fairly featureless in some areas, whereas other parts, when zoomed in to high resolution, show ripples, sand deposits resulting from wind activity. The lighter terrain is bedrock. The green and bluish colors represent a composition rich in mafic (iron- and magnesium-rich) minerals such as pyroxene and maybe olivine, with green having the greatest concentration. The green-blue material at the upper right is mostly rock, whereas the materials in the bedforms (at left) are composed of sand. The reddish materials are composed of magnesium- and iron-rich clays, possibly formed by ancient water that altered volcanic rock. In this scenario, the polygonal texture could represent cracks formed after the clays dried. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows a microscopic view of fine-grained material at the tip of the Robotic Arm scoop as seen by the Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on June 20, 2008, the 26th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The Phoenix lander's first taste test of soil near Mars' north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday June 26, 2008. "It's very typical of the soil here on Earth minus the organics," Kounaves said during a teleconference from Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows a microscopic view of fine-grained material at the tip of the Robotic Arm scoop as seen by the Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on June 20, 2008, the 26th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The Phoenix lander's first taste test of soil near Mars' north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday June 26, 2008. "It's very typical of the soil here on Earth minus the organics," Kounaves said during a teleconference from Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/NASA) This image provided by NASA shows a view from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Stereo Surface Imager's left eye after delivery of soil to the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) oven, June 6, 2008. Could the next Martian delivery to the Phoenix spacecraft's high-tech easy-bake oven be the last? The dramatic turn of events comes after an electrical short was discovered in one of eight miniature test ovens that Phoenix brought to the red planet. Engineers are concerned another outage could render the tool useless, so scientists are treating the next bake-off as possibly the last. (AP Photo/NASA)