Edited to add: As usual, Emily has a ton of really gnarly info on Phoenix and this press conference. Why read my stuff about Mars when you can read hers?
Yay, great news: the Mars Phoenix lander crew just announced that the mission -- originally designed to last 90 days and which is already two months in -- will go on for an extra month, extended until at least the end of September 2008. They have enough power to last them for a while after summer, so it can continue to do cool science until its power runs out. They'll use this extra time to dig two new trenches, strategically located in lower spots near the fixed lander where wind brings in material and ice can persist for longer periods of time. Also, they announced that they were able to get a sample of ice from the surface into the ...
