PIA10903: "Dodo-Goldilocks" Trench Dug by Phoenix
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Phoenix
 Spacecraft:  Phoenix Mars Lander
 Instrument:  Robotic Arm
Surface Stereo Imager (SSI)
 Product Size:  1024 x 1024 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA10903.tif (3.15 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA10903.jpg (166.1 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This color image was acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on the 19th day of the mission, or Sol 19 (June 13, 2008), after the May 25, 2008, landing. This image shows one trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" after two digs (dug on Sol 18, or June 12, 2008) by Phoenix's Robotic Arm. The trench is 22 centimeters (8.7 inches) wide and 35 centimeters (13.8 inches) long. At its deepest point, the trench is 7 to 8 centimeters (2.7 to 3 inches) deep.

White material, possibly ice, is located only at the upper portion of the trench, indicating that it is not continuous throughout the excavated site. According to scientists, the trench might be exposing a ledge, or only a portion of a slab, of the white material.

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/Texas A&M University

Image Addition Date:
2008-06-16