Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mars Lander Robotic Arm Completes $420 Million Mission
Images from the Phoenix Mars Lander
After landing near Mars's north pole, the Phoenix beamed back images to Earth. Photographs of Mars's polar region revealed narrow troughs in the bumpy surface of the planet.
In the coming days, the Phoenix will use a 7.7-foot-long robotic arm to dig into the Martian soil.
The robot arm was manufactured by a technology company in Boston, MA., and programmed by scientists working out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
The exact nature of the work the robot arm will carry out has not been revealed to the public.
ÒThe robotic armÕs mission is top secret,Ó said Pnang Nyugen, chief robotics scientist for the project, Òbut make no mistake -- years of work have gone into it, and no expense has been spared to make sure that the robot arm will carry out its important work, even 422 million miles away from Earth, on the dusty red surface of planet Mars.
"It cost $420 million, but it was worth it."
After landing near Mars's north pole, the Phoenix beamed back images to Earth. Photographs of Mars's polar region revealed narrow troughs in the bumpy surface of the planet.
In the coming days, the Phoenix will use a 7.7-foot-long robotic arm to dig into the Martian soil.
The robot arm was manufactured by a technology company in Boston, MA., and programmed by scientists working out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
The exact nature of the work the robot arm will carry out has not been revealed to the public.
ÒThe robotic armÕs mission is top secret,Ó said Pnang Nyugen, chief robotics scientist for the project, Òbut make no mistake -- years of work have gone into it, and no expense has been spared to make sure that the robot arm will carry out its important work, even 422 million miles away from Earth, on the dusty red surface of planet Mars.
"It cost $420 million, but it was worth it."
