'Snow White' in Color
This color image taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the trench dubbed "Snow White," after further digging on the 25th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (June 19, 2008). The lander's solar panel is casting a shadow over a portion of the trench.
The trench is about 5 centimeters (2 inches) deep and 30 centimeters (12 inches) long.
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.
Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.