Getting your player ready...
TUCSON — The Phoenix Lander is getting ready to flex its muscles on Mars.
The spacecraft successfully freed its 8-foot robotic arm from the restraints that kept it folded up and protected from vibrations during the launch and landing, scientists said Thursday.
Preparations are now underway to partially flex the arm.
After scientists test the arm’s joints at different temperatures over the next several days, they will tell Phoenix to use the camera on the arm to look at the lander’s underbelly and take a picture of the terrain beneath it.
