This animation combines two images of the trench informally named "Snow
White" taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on
July 21, 2008, during the lander's 56th Martian day, or sol, since landing.
The earlier Sol 56 image is the one without a shadow falling across the
lower right corner of the image. It was taken after Phoenix had used its
motorized rasp to get some material from the trench into the scoop on the
lander's robotic arm. The later Sol 56 image was taken after the arm had
scraped clean an area that includes the rasping site.
The trench is about 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide. These images were
taken through the camera's red filter.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.