This image from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the spacecraft's recent
activity site as of the 23rd Martian day of the mission, or Sol 22 (June
16, 2008), after the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet's northern
polar plains. The mosaic was taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager
(SSI). Phoenix's solar panels are seen in the foreground.
The trench informally called "Snow White" was dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm
in a patch of Martian soil near the center of a polygonal surface feature,
nicknamed "Cheshire Cat." The "dump pile" is located at the top of the
trench, and has been dubbed "Croquet Ground." The digging site has been
nicknamed "Wonderland."
Snow White, seen here in an SSI image from Sol 22 (June 16, 2008) is about
2 centimeters (.8 inches) deep and 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. As of
Sol 24 (June 18, 2008), the trench is 5 centimeters (2 inches deep) and
the trench has been renamed "Snow White 1," as a second trench has been
dug to its right and nicknamed "Snow White 2."
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.