The Robotic Arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has just delivered the first
sample of dug-up soil to the spacecraft's microscope station in this image
taken by the Surface Stereo Imager during the mission's Sol 17 (June 12),
or 17th Martian day after landing.
The scoop is positioned above the box containing key parts of Phoenix's
Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA,
instrument suite. It has sprinkled a small amount of soil into a notch in
the MECA box where the microscope's sample wheel is exposed. The wheel
turns to present sample particles on various substrates to the Optical
Microscope for viewing.
The scoop is about 8.5 centimeters (3.3 inches) wide. The top of the MECA
box is 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) wide. This image has been lightened to
make details more visible.
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.