A Martian sunset as seen by NASA's Phoenix Mars lander

NASA has shared a throwback picture of the Martian sunset captured by Phoenix, a lander sent to the surface of Mars to search for evidence of past or present microbial life.

This image was taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager.

A Martian sunset as seen by the Phoenix lander. More about the mission: https://t.co/Wpj3jA4b4F https://t.co/9X92Gk5hic pic.twitter.com/Xv3s2PpK8O

— NASA Mars (@NASAMars) November 10, 2022

The Phoenix Mars Lander, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL) in Pasadena, California, launched on August 4, 2007, to find direct evidence of water ice below the surface of the Martian north polar region.

The solar-powered robot arrived at the Red Planet on May 25, 2008, landing farther north than any previous mission. During the course of its three-month mission, it confirmed the presence of water ice just below the Martian surface. The mission also discovered traces of the chemical perchlorate, a possible energy source for microbes and a potentially valuable future resource for human explorers.

The Phoenix Mars lander, as per the official mission website, accomplished all its planned objectives, operating two months longer than planned.

The Mars lander ended communications in November 2008, due to reduced sunlight which caused the energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning. According to NASA, Mars' far northern latitudes experience no sunlight in winter and the robotic lander was not designed to survive the dark, cold, icy winter.