Click on image to view animation
This pan and zoom animation shows a microscopic view of fine-grained
material at the tip of the Robotic Arm scoop as seen by the Robotic Arm
Camera (RAC) aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on June 20, 2008, the 26th
Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
RAC scientists took this image at a resolution of 30 microns by rotating
the scoop to within 11 millimeters of the camera's front lens and
refocusing the camera to macro focus. The image shows small clumps of
fine, fluffy, red soil particles collected in a sample called 'Rosy Red.'
The sample was dug from the trench named 'Snow White' in the area called
'Wonderland.' Some of the Rosy Red sample was delivered to Phoenix's
Optical Microscope and Wet Chemistry Laboratory for analysis.
The RAC provides its own illumination, so the color seen in RAC images is
color as seen on Earth, not color as it would appear on Mars.
The image behind the RAC animation, taken by Phoenix's Surface Stereo
Imager also on Sol 26, provides context. (See also PIA10921.)
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.
