PIA10763: Phoenix's "Dodo" Trench
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Phoenix
 Spacecraft:  Phoenix Mars Lander
 Instrument:  Robotic Arm Camera (RAC)
Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe
 Product Size:  512 x 256 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA10763.tif (131.4 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA10763.jpg (29.55 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This image was taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008). The center of the image shows a trench informally called "Dodo" after the second dig. "Dodo" is located within the previously determined digging area, informally called "Knave of Hearts." The light square to the right of the trench is the Robotic Arm's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP). The Robotic Arm has scraped to a bright surface which indicated the Arm has reached a solid structure underneath the surface, which has been seen in other images as well.

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.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute

Image Addition Date:
2008-06-04