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› Larger image This image, taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 50, or the 50th day of the mission, July 15, 2008, shows two holes at the top created by the lander's Robotic Arm's motorized rasp tool. Full image and caption   Latest press images Raw images Latest videos JPL Phoenix site NASA Phoenix site Univ. of Arizona Phoenix site Tools: › Print this article › Join e-mail list Phoenix Rasps Frozen Layer, Collects Sample July 16, 2008 TUCSON, Ariz. -- A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander successfully drilled into the frozen soil and loosened material that was collected in the lander's scoop. Images and data sent from Phoenix early Wednesday indicated the shaved material in the scoop had changed slightly over time during the hours after it was collected. The motorized rasp -- located on the back of the lander's robotic arm scoop -- made two distinct holes in a trench informally named "Snow White." The material loosened by the rasp was collected in the scoop and documented by the Robotic Arm Camera. The activity was a test of the rasping method of gathering an icy sample, in preparation for using that method in coming days to collect a sample for analysis in an oven of Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. "This was a trial that went really well," said Richard Morris, a Phoenix science team member from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. "While the putative ice sublimed out of the shavings over several hours, this shows us there will be a good chance ice will remain in a sample for delivery" to Phoenix's laboratory ovens. Phoenix on Wednesday will be commanded to continue scraping and enlarging the "Snow White" trench and to conduct another series of rasp tests. The lander's cameras will again be used to monitor the sample in the scoop after its collection. The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu. Media contacts: Guy Webster 818-354-6278 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726 NASA Headquarters, Washington dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov Sara Hammond 520-626-1974 University of Arizona, Tucson shammond@lpl.arizona.edu 2008-134 › News releases archives		› NASA Phoenix site › University of Arizona Phoenix site › JPL on Facebook and Twitter › Landing Press Kit (3Mb - PDF) › Launch Press Kit (6.5Mb - PDF) › Mission Fact Sheet (244Kb - PDF) › NASA Mars Exploration site › NASA/JPL Landing Blog › Mars Exploration Rovers › JPL's Rover News and Image › Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter › Mars Odyssey › Mars Express
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