NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this image on Sol
14 (June 8, 2008), the 14th Martian day after landing. It shows two
trenches dug by Phoenix's Robotic Arm.
Soil from the right trench, informally called "Baby Bear," was delivered
to Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, on Sol 12 (June
6). The following several sols included repeated attempts to shake the
screen over TEGA's oven number 4 to get fine soil particles through the
screen and into the oven for analysis.
The trench on the left is informally called "Dodo" and was dug as a test.
Each of the trenches is about 9 centimeters (3 inches) wide. This view is
presented in approximately true color by combining separate exposures
taken through different filters of the Surface Stereo Imager.
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.