Phoenix Scoop Inverted Showing Rasp
This image taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 49, or the 49th Martian day of the mission (July 14, 2008), shows the silver colored rasp protruding from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm scoop. The scoop is inverted and the rasp is pointing up.
Shown with its forks pointing toward the ground is the thermal and electrical conductivity probe, at the lower right. The Robotic Arm Camera is pointed toward the ground.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is led 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.