Instrument Information
IDENTIFIER urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:ra.phx::1.2
NAME Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm
TYPE Sub-Surface Tool
DESCRIPTION The Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm (RA) was a 2.4-m long arm mounted on the lander. It had three joints. The shoulder joint, where the RA was attached to the lander deck, had two degrees of freedom: motion in azimuth and elevation. The elbow and wrist joints each had one degree of freedom allowing further motions in elevation. Attached to the RA were: a scoop, a Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), and the Robotic Arm Camera (RAC). The RA was designed to acquire samples of martian soil, dig trenches to uncover subsurface ice, modify the terrain close to the lander, and serve as a means to insert the TECP into the soil. The scoop had a drill bit on its back; after rasping icy soil, a series of RA motions was often used to send the material to the front of the scoop. Both the scoop and TECP were mounted on the wrist joint of the arm. Motor currents, link lengths, and joint positions of the RA were used to determine the force the RA exerted during its motions and the position of the scoop during these motions. This information was useful in monitoring the safety of the instrument and had the science return of allowing analysis of soil properties at the landing site.
MODEL IDENTIFIER
NAIF INSTRUMENT IDENTIFIER
SERIAL NUMBER not applicable
REFERENCES Arvidson, R.E., R.G. Bonitz, M.L. Robinson, J.L. Carsten, R.A. Volpe, A. Trebi-Ollennu, M.T. Mellon, P.C. Chu, K.R. Davis, J.J. Wilson, A.S. Shaw, R.N. Greenberger, K.L. Siebach, T.C. Stein, S.C. Cull, W. Goetz, R.V. Morris, D.W. Ming, H.U. Keller, M.T. Lemmon, H.G. Sizemore, and M. Mehta, Results from the Mars Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm experiment. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, E00E02, 2009, doi:10.1029/2009JE003408.

Bonitz, R. G., et al., Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm and Icy Soil Acquisition Device, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2007JE003030, 2008.

Heet, T. L., et al., Geologic setting of the Phoenix Lander mission landing site, J. Geophys. Res., 114, E00E04, doi:10.1029/2009JE003416, 2009.

Shaw, A., R. E. Arvidson, R. Bonitz, J. Carsten, H. U. Keller, M. T. Lemmon, M. T. Mellon, M. Robinson, and A. Trebi-Ollennu, Phoenix soil physical properties investigation, J. Geophys. Res., 114, E00E05, doi:10.1029/2009JE003455, 2009.