Phoenix Site Panorama This movie is compiled of images from Phoenix's Stereo Surface Imager (SSI) camera that were taken on sols 1 and 3. The top images, highlighted in yellow at the beginning of the movie, have been stretched eight times to show details of features in the background. Phoenix's parachute, backshell, heatshield, and impact site can also be seen. Video credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.
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Phoenix Lidar Operation Animation This is an animation of the Canadian-built meteorological station's lidar, which was successfully activated on Sol 2. The animation shows how the lidar is activated by first opening its dust cover, then emitting rapid pulses of light (resembling a brilliant green laser) into the Martian atmosphere. Some of the light then bounces off particles in the atmosphere, and is reflected back down to the lidar's telescope. This allows the lidar to detect dust, clouds and fog. Video credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/NASA Ames.
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Animation of sol 3 Lidar use This series of images was taken by the Surface Stereo Camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander during the firing of the spacecraft's lidar on Sol 3. The camera used its green filter (532 nanometers), which includes the wavelength of the lidar beam. The 9 images show the beam on and off. The low contrast of the beam confirms the effectiveness of the lidar dust cover, because the laser continues upward rather than scattering much light into the cameraI. Video credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/NASA Ames.
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