The science team operating the Phoenix Mars Lander is asking NASA to extend the mission beyond the planned 90 days, which would end in late August. The team wants at least another 30 days.
After doing all the work to get Phoenix where it is, shutting down the mission while the Lander is still producing good science woukd seem foolish. There would likely be only one extension, however. Pjoenix is above Mars' Arctic Circle, and winter is closing in. Just as in Earth's polar regions, the Sun will stay below the horizon through winter. As Phoenix operates on solar power, it will not function in the long night. The intense cold will also destroy the systems of Phoenix before the Martian spring arrives.
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