NASA suspended the activity of the two probes that were orbiting Mars in order to control the Mars Phoenix Lander. The last time the agency managed to communicate with the rover was on November 2. From that moment, there were several attempts to control the rover, all of which failed.

The initial loss of contact was caused by a dust storm in northern Mars, near the place where the vehicle landed.  Phoenix Mission Manager Chris Lewicki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated that they were hoping for another variation “in weather might give” them “an opportunity to contact the lander again.”

The agency stated that, due to the winter season, the solar panels that power the vehicle won’t get energy from the Sun anymore. NASA officials also stated that the odds are small for the vehicle to survive temperatures that could go as low as below -150 degrees Fahrenheit because Phoenix won’t have enough energy to do the routine tasks that are crucial for its survival. The agency also reported that the spacecraft controllers will try to re-establish contact with Phoenix once the spring comes, in an effort to raise the vehicle and bring it back to Earth.

Phoenix is a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. It was launched from Florida on 4 Aug 2007 and landed on Mars on 25 May 2008. The spacecraft’s mission was to analyze the Martian Soil using a hi-tech oven to decode the composition of the Martian soil. During the experiments, the evidence that was found suggested that there was ice in Mars’ soil.