PIA11721: Conductivity Probe Inserted in Martian Soil, Sol 46
Target Name: Mars
Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun)
Mission: Phoenix
Spacecraft: Phoenix Lander
Instrument: Surface Stereo Imager (SSI)
Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe
Product Size: 1152 samples x 1063 lines
Produced By: University of Arizona
Full-Res TIFF: PIA11721.tif (3.678 MB)
Full-Res JPEG: PIA11721.jpg (161.7 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This image taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the lander's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), at the end of the Robotic Arm, on the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (July 11, 2008).

The TECP is inserted at a site called Vestri, which was monitored several times over the course of the mission. The probe's measurements at this site yielded evidence that water was exchanged, daily and seasonally, between the soil and atmosphere.

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.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

Image Addition Date:
2008-12-15