NASA: Phoenix Mars mission has ended

NASA said that the Phoenix Mars mission has ended. The spacecraft arrived in the northern polar region of Mars in May. Since then, the lander has been digging trenches and conducting science experiments to study whether the environment on Mars could support primitive life. Project manager Barry Goldstein said on Monday the team has not heard from Phoenix since Nov. 2. Goldstein said the space agency will continue to use overhead orbiters to try to communicate with Phoenix, but the chances are slim that the spacecraft will wake up.