PIA11721: Conductivity Probe Inserted in Martian Soil, Sol 46


Conductivity Probe Inserted in Martian Soil, Sol 46

Caption:

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.

Background Info:

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.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Phoenix
Instrument Host Phoenix Lander
Host Type Lander
Instrument Solid-State Imaging (SSI) Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECA)
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color, Thermal, Water
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2008-12-15
Date in Caption 2008-07-11
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11721
Identifier PIA11721