We reported recently on the impending arrival of the Phoenix probe on the red planet and are pleased to inform you that the machine has safely landed on Mars and is setting itself up for some hard graft.
Matt Robinson from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said: “Yesterday we sent commands down to the lander to unstow the arm and today I am ecstatic to let you know that it was successful – The robotic arm is now unstowed and it’s out of its launch restraints.”
The next steps are to conduct a health check of the robotic appendage at a range of temperatures and then a camera on the arm will look under the spacecraft to check out the terrain, then the titanium arm will get stuck in and start digging up samples.
There are seven instruments on-board the probe and we’re beside ourself with excitement at the prospect of what may lie beneath the top-soil.
Keep yourself up-to-date at the NASA blog
