From the location of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, above the Martian arctic
circle, the sun does not set during the peak of the Martian summer.
This period of maximum solar energy is past—on Sol 86, the 86th Martian
day after the Phoenix landing, the sun fully set behind a slight rise to
the north for about half an hour.
This red-filter image taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager, shows
the sun rising on the morning of sol 90, Aug. 25, 2008, the last day of
the Phoenix nominal mission.
The image was taken at 51 minutes past midnight local solar time during
the slow sunrise that followed a 75 minute "night." The skylight in the
image is light scattered off atmospheric dust particles and ice crystals.
The setting sun does not mean the end of the mission. In late July, the
Phoenix Mission was extended through September, rather than the 90-sol
duration originally planned as the prime mission.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.
