This is a 3D representation of the pits seen in the first Atomic Force
Microscope, or AFM, images sent back from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. Red
represents the highest point and purple represents the lowest point.
The particle in the upper left corner —shown at the highest
magnification ever seen from another world —is a rounded particle
about one micrometer, or one millionth of a meter, across. It is a
particle of the dust that cloaks Mars. Such dust particles color the
Martian sky pink, feed storms that regularly envelop the planet and
produce Mars' distinctive red soil.
The particle was part of a sample informally called "Sorceress" delivered
to the AFM on the 38th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (July 2, 2008).
The AFM is part of Phoenix's microscopic station called MECA, or the
Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer.
The AFM was developed by a Swiss-led consortium, with Imperial College
London producing the silicon substrate that holds sampled particles.
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.