Phoenix Digs on Mars

By Nancy Atkinson - June 2, 2008 at 5:06 AM UTC | Missions
phoenix-scoop-2.jpg

The Phoenix lander used its robotic arm scoop to dig up soil on Mars surface for the first time during its activities during its seventh day on the Red Planet. The image above shows the hole dug by Phoenix, and below is a picture of the scoop itself, with the Martian soil inside.

The plan was to do a test dig and then dump the soil. If that works correctly, then Phoenix will dig another scoop and bring it to the TEGA device on board the lander, the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer, a "furnace" and mass spectrometer instrument that scientists will use to analyze Martian ice and soil samples.

During its previous day's activities on Sol 6, Phoenix reached out and touched Mars with its robotic arm scoop to make an impression on the Martian surface. And please, no conspiracy theories here, but the impression looks like a footprint, and the Phoenix scientists have dubbed the mark "Yeti." Touching the surface was a preliminary test for the robotic arm and scoop, to make sure everything was working correctly before making the first scoop.

However, the TEGA device has experienced an intermittent short circuit, and the TEGA scientists are developing a procedure to work around the problem. But Phoenix can still deliver the soil sample to TEGA, and the sample can be held there until the device is working.

Original News Source:

Phoenix

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com