NASA Mars lander prepares for three-month digging mission

CALIFORNIA: NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spent its first full day in the Martian arctic plains checking its instruments in preparation for an ambitious digging mission to study whether the site could have once been habitable.

Sol 1, as the days are known on Mars, was a busy time for the three-legged lander, which set down Sunday in relatively flat terrain cut by polygon-shaped fissures. The geometric cracks are likely caused by the repeated freezing and thawing of buried ice. "We've only looked at one tiny little slit" of the landing site, principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson said Monday.

Phoenix planned to take more views of its surroundings to help scientists zero in on a digging site and also take images of its onboard instruments, including its trench-digging robotic arm.

Early indications show the protective cover around the arm did not unwrap all the way after landing, but it should not affect the ability to unstow the arm, said Barry Goldstein, project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Pasadena, Tuesday, AP