14 DAY TRIAL // At this point, officials at NASA are conducting a second listening campaign on Mars, for any possible signals that a hypothetically resurrected Mars Phoenix Lander may give off. Engineers at the American space agency are using their Mars Odyssey spacecraft for this job. The orbiter is being diverted from its regular science duties for a few days each month, beginning in January, to point its antennas at the ground, and survey Phoenix's landing site. Though many say that chances of the land-based robot recovering are extremely slim, NASA argues that using the Odyssey for this task for only a few days a month may be worth it, if experts manage to reconnect with the lander.
Phoenix has a built-in feature called the Lazarus mode, which allows it to endure for long periods of time on only minimal battery levels. From time to time, it gages the level of power its solar batteries collect. When it discovers sufficient amounts to sustain its functionality, it will attempt to contact Earth, or any spacecraft flying overhead. One of the main reasons why the Odyssey is currently used for this listening job is that the other NASA orbiter, the MRO, is unable to survey the surface of the Red Planet at the high northern latitude where the lander set down. The platform arrived on Mars in 2008, and endured for five months, two months more than the originally-planned three.
But its sensitive scientific equipment was not constructed for enduring the harsh conditions of the Martian winter. Plus, before contact with it was lost, on November 2, 2008, experts turned down some heaters and instruments on the spacecraft, which means that, even if the Lazarus Mode works, some of these devices may no longer be restarted. Up until now, the Phoenix has remained silent, but experts say that the area where it is located is in mid-spring. So, intuitively, if the lander ever has sufficient energy to wake up from its wintry slumber, now will be the time. Previous contact attempts were made in January, but only for a few days. They yielded no positive results.
The new campaign featured about 50 flights over the Phoenix location, experts say. According to plans, it will end today, February 26, if no signs are recorded. NASA has only one more such effort planned, for April 5-9. By that time, despite the northern latitude of Phoenix, the Sun will always remain above the horizon line at the lander's location, which means that it will benefit from the maximum amount of solar radiation ever available on that Martian location, Space reports.