NASA’s newest spacecraft got down and dirty on Mars, taking its first practice scoop of Martian soil ahead of the actual dig expected later this week, scientists said Monday.The test dig made Sunday by Phoenix Mars Lander’s 8-foot-long robotic arm uncovered bits of bright specks in the soil believed to be ice or salt.
“We see this nice streak of white material,” said Pat Woida, senior engineer at the University of Arizona at Tucson, which is directing the mission. “We don’t know what this material is yet.”
Scientists expect to find out definitively what the specks are made of once the lander begins conducting its chemical tests.
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