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Phoenix's Probe Inserted in Martian Soil

Oct. 29, 2008
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's robotic-arm camera took this image of the spacecraft's thermal and electrical-conductivity probe (TECP) inserted into Martian soil on May 25, 2008.

The Phoenix Mars lander's robotic-arm camera took this image of the spacecraft's thermal and electrical-conductivity probe (TECP) inserted into Martian soil on day 149 of the mission. Phoenix landed on Mars' northern plains on May 25, 2008, landing.

The robotic-arm camera acquired this image at 16:02:41 local solar time. The camera pointing was elevation -72.6986 degrees and azimuth 2.1093 degrees.

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.

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