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Article: NASA probe's instruments begin inspection of Martian soil samples
- Article from:
- The Hindustan Times
- Article date:
- June 14, 2008
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Washington, June 14 -- Two instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have begun inspecting Martian soil samples delivered by the scoop on the probe's arm.
The instruments are a microscope and a bake-and-sniff analyzer.
According to Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, US, "This is the first time since the Viking missions three decades ago that a sample is being studied inside an instrument on Mars."
Stickiness of the soil at the Phoenix site has presented challenges for delivering samples, but also presents scientific opportunities.
"Understanding the soil is a major goal of ...