The Mars rover Spirit began its scientific mission in earnest on Friday, stretching out its robotic arm for the first microscopic look at the surface of another planet.
A separate picture of the six-wheeled rover's tire tracks from its first drive onto the red, dusty surface of Mars a day earlier showed tantalizing signs of fine soil and a thin crust of dirt that might -- or might not -- be evidence the rover landed in an ancient lake bed, scientists said.
Spirit's clearly-etched tracks showing the outline of the tires resembled a handprint left in sand, relieving scientists who said the ground looked good for driving.
"Today Spirit began its mission," mission manager Mark Adler told a briefing after the mission's 13th Martian day.
"About seven hours ago, we made our first use of the arm. We put the arm out in front of the rover, down hovering over the soil with the microscopic imager, and we took the first microscopic images of the surface of another planet," he said.
Scientists want to search for clues that would explain wind patterns and the planet's geological history, including the main question of whether water ever flowed on the surface.
Spirit had tested its arm after landing but waited until after its exit from its landing pad on Thursday to put it to use.
The first black-and-white, 3cm-diameter pictures, including stereoscopic montages which came to life when viewed through three-dimensional glasses, showed a fine-grained flat surface, pitted here and there.
Dust particles appeared to be cemented together, said camera science lead Ken Herkenhoff. Some of the grains were too small for the camera, which can focus on a grain of salt, to pick up.
The image suggested there could be a fine crust of soil on the surface, he said. Scientists are eager to confirm that and test why the grains hold together, with one explanation suggesting that water once flowed over the sand and evaporated, creating a crust like that found on a beach.
The mission directors appeared to get as much satisfaction or more from studying the tracks the rover made in its trek about 80cm from the lander that brought it to the planet 13 days ago.
"Rover tracks are great!" science team member Rob Sullivan told a briefing.
"The bottom line is we don't anticipate any problems if the terrain continues to hold up like this," he said.
Crumbly sand could have been tougher to drive through.
"It looks like there is a lot of support there," he said.
Meanwhile, the second rover, Opportunity, is hurtling toward the Red Planet for a landing in eight days, after firing rockets to correct its course, which is several hundred kilometers off target.
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