Mars lander poised to bake soil, then test it

June 7, 2008
Mars lander poised to bake soil, then test it (AP)

This image released by NASA taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Thursday, June 5, 2008, shows the Robotic Arm scoop containing a soil sample poised over the partially open door of the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer's number four cell, or oven. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University)

(AP) -- The Phoenix lander is getting ready to sniff the Martian soil for signs of life-friendly elements after scooping up a handful of dirt near the north pole, researchers said Friday.



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