The image on the upper left is from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Optical
Microscope after a sample informally called "Sorceress" was delivered to
its silicon substrate on the 38th Martian day, or sol, of the mission
(July 2, 2008).
A 3D representation of the same sample is on the right, as seen by
Phoenix's Atomic Force Microscope. This is 100 times greater magnification
than the view from the Optical Microscope, and the most highly magnified
image ever seen from another world.
The Optical Microscope and the Atomic Force Microscope are part of
Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer
instrument.
The Atomic Force Microscope was developed by a Swiss-led consortium in
collaboration with Imperial College London.
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.
