In its final days Phoenix, the NASA lander that since May has been scraping at subsurface ice in the martian arctic, is blinking in and out of contact with Earth.
As temperatures plummeted to nearly −100 °C and dust storms and clouds obscured an enfeebled sun, the spacecraft last week missed several chances to communicate with satellites passing overhead.
Phoenix is almost certain not to survive the coming winter. Thick slabs of frozen carbon dioxide will coat the spacecraft, and its electronics will break for good... (nature.com)