Click on image for animation
This artist's animation of an imaginary camera zooming in from above
shows the location of the Robotic Arm Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars
Lander as it acquires an image of the scoop at the end of the arm. Located
just beneath the Robotic Arm Camera lens, the scoop is folded in the stowed
position, with its open end facing the Robotic Arm Camera.
The last frame in the animation shows the first image taken by the Robotic Arm
Camera, one day after Phoenix landed on Mars. In the center of the image is
the robotic scoop the lander will use to dig into the surface, collect samples
and touch water ice on Mars for the first time. The scoop is in the stowed
position, awaiting deployment of the robotic arm.
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.