A scanning electron microscope captured this image of terresterial soil
containing a phyllosilicate mineral from Koua Bocca, Ivory Coast, West
Africa. This soil shares some similarities with Martian soil scooped by
the Phoenix Lander. This image's field of view is approximately 23 microns
wide.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by JPL, Pasadena, Calif.
Spacecraft development was by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.
Photo courtesy of Michael Velbel (Michigan State University) and William
Barker, (University of Wisconsin-Madison). From the image database of the
Clay Minerals Society and the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and
Ireland at http://www.minersoc.org/pages/gallery/claypix/index.html.