Needles of the thermal and conductivity probe on NASA's Phoenix Mars
Lander were positioned into the bottom of a trench called "Upper Cupboard"
during Sol 86 (Aug. 21, 2008), or 86th Martian day after landing. This
image of the conductivity probe after it was raised back out of the trench
was taken by Phoenix's Robotic Arm Camera. The conductivity probe is at
the wrist of the robotic arm's scoop.
The probe measures how fast heat and electricity move from one needle to
an adjacent one through the soil or air between the needles. Conductivity
readings can be indicators about water vapor, water ice and liquid water.
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.
