The Phoenix Lander has successfully begun to deploy its robotic arm, which will allow it to dig into the Martian surface and deliver samples of soil and ice to scientific instruments on the lander for analysis.

Due to the earlier problems with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA is currently using the Mars Odyssey to relay the Phoenix’s commands.  Investigations are still underway to determine why the MRO experienced difficulty.

After freeing the arm from the pins, that were used to protect the arm during transport, the arm moved itself out from under a sterile wrapping called the bio-barrier, which prevented the arm from being contaminated with Earth microbes prior to launch.

NASA sent commands to Phoenix on Wednesday morning PDT (Wednesday afternoon GMT) to unhook the robotic arm. The arm’s complete deployment is scheduled to unfold over a period of two days, finishing up today.

If everything goes well, the arm could start digging by early next week,

Unlike the Mars rovers, Phoenix cannot move across the Martian surface. So the Phoenix team is very carefully planning how it will make use of the area within reach of its robotic arm.

Due to the lack of new commands on Tuesday, Phoenix got a head start on assembling a color panorama of its surroundings. But it will still take two to three weeks to finish and send back to Earth.