NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander did a small amount of excavation as it touched down on pebbly north polar terrain on the Red Planet, as shown in this close-up view of one of the lander's three footpads.
The footpad appears to have slid a few inches as the lander touched down.
This image was taken by the Surface Stereo Imager shortly after Phoenix landed May 25, 2008.
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.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Phoenix | |
Instrument Host | Phoenix Lander | |
Host Type | Lander | |
Instrument | Solid-State Imaging (SSI) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Grayscale | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2008-05-26 | |
Date in Caption | 2008-05-25 | |
Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10691 | |
Identifier | PIA10691 |