Nasa says its Phoenix lander on the surface of Mars has gone silent and is almost certainly dead. | Engineers have not heard from the craft since Sunday 2 November when it made a brief communication with Earth.|  Phoenix, which landed on the planet’s northern plains in May,
had been struggling in the increasing cold and dark of an advancing
winter.

Perhaps the key achievement has been to touch the water-ice in the soil.

Sad news, nicely parsed by the Gizmodo blog (featuring from the Phenoix’s “personality conjurer,” Veronica McGregor).

Spirit and Opportunity are still going strong, after about four years.