Article: Sticky Martian soil foils Phoenix Lander's first ice study

Report from Asian News International brought to you by HT Syndication.

London, July 29 -- The first attempt by NASA's Phoenix Mars lander to quickly collect and analyze ice samples was foiled by sticky Martian soil that refused to budge from the collection scoop.

On July 26th, the robot drilled holes with a rasp on its robotic arm in a work trench known as "Snow White".

Phoenix's robotic arm then scooped up an icy soil sample and attempted to quickly transfer it to the onboard TEGA (Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer) instrument before the ice vaporised in the thin Martian air.

Unfortunately, the icy soil clung to the end of the robotic arm even after the scoop was tipped upside down and the ...