PIA10909: Snow White Trenches
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Phoenix
 Spacecraft:  Phoenix Mars Lander
 Instrument:  Surface Stereo Imager (SSI)
 Product Size:  1024 x 896 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA10909.tif (918.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA10909.jpg (166.2 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 acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on the 25th Martian day of the mission, or Sol 24 (June 19, 2008), after the May 25, 2008, landing. This image shows the trenches informally called "Snow White 1" (left) and "Snow White 2" (right). The trench is about 5 centimeters (2 inches) deep and 30 centimeters (12 inches) long.

"Snow White" is located in a patch of Martian soil near the center of a polygonal surface feature, nicknamed "Cheshire Cat." The "dump pile" is located at the top of the trench, the side farthest away from the lander, and has been dubbed "Croquet Ground." The digging site has been named "Wonderland."

This image has been enhanced to brighten shaded areas.

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/NASA Ames

Image Addition Date:
2008-06-23