Click on image for animation
This is an animation of the Canadian-built meteorological station's lidar,
which was successfully activated on Sol 2. The animation shows how the
lidar is activated by first opening its dust cover, then emitting rapid
pulses of light (resembling a brilliant green laser) into the Martian
atmosphere. Some of the light then bounces off particles in the
atmosphere, and is reflected back down to the lidar's telescope. This
allows the lidar to detect dust, clouds and fog.
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.