Looking Within

As images go, it’s not very exciting. But, it’s what it means that makes a difference to the scientists commanding the Phoenix Mars lander. The image above is a picture taken by the lander’s robotic arm camera looking into the robotic arm’s scoop. The spacecraft is still on its way to Mars, so this picture is equivalent of taking a picture of yourself onboard a jet while you’re traveling and sending it back home via email to let your loved ones know you’re still alive.

Why do this? The scientists routinely test instruments onboard spacecraft to make sure they’ll be working when they arrive at their destinations. Cruise mode is a great time to make such tests and to work on any fixes (if they’re needed). In Phoenix’s case, these are the only pictures to be taken and returned to Earth while the spacecraft is en route. The next images we see from these instruments won’t arrive until the spacecraft gets to Mars in May 2008.

Phoenix’s work on Mars will be the sort of geology that humans would love to do when WE get to Mars. It will dig trenches, scoop up soil and water-ice samples, and then test them onboard the lander in a series of chemical and geological analyses. The imagers will give us full-color images of the nearby surface in great detail

Of course, the big questions this mission is designed to answer have to do with life; whether it existed on Mars and what remains would be detectable in the Martian soil. It’s one of the main drivers for all our Mars missions as we seek to understand this bleak, cold, alien yet Earth-reminiscent planet. So, it’s good that our planetary scout mission has sent us back some pictures. We know the camera works. And sometime next year, we’ll use the other instruments to further our understanding of Mars’s intricate geological history.