Click on image for animation
This movie clip shows testing under simulated Mars conditions on Earth in
preparation for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander using its robotic arm for
delivering a sample to the doors of a laboratory oven.
The icy soil used in the testing flowed easily from the scoop during all
tests at Martian temperatures. On Mars, icy soil has stuck to the scoop, a
surprise that may be related to composition of the soil at the landing
site.
This testing was done at Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corp.,
New York, which supplied the Phoenix scoop.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.
