NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm

Radio glitch delays plan by 1 day
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2008 1:00 PM CDT
NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm
Team members, from left, Ed Weiler, Charles Elachi, Peter Smith and project manager Barry Goldstein conduct a news conference at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander extended its robotic arm for the first time late last night, the AP reports, a day late because of a temporary radio blackout. The arm, which will unfurl over a 2-day period, will eventually be used to take samples of ice below the surface in Mars’ arctic regions to search for evidence of life. (More NASA stories.)

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