Astronauts conduct second spacewalkSTS-124 Mission Specialist Mike Fossum exits the Quest airlock beginning the mission's second spacewalk. Photo credit: NASA TV.
Astronaut Mike Fossum used a digital camera to create this self-portrait during the STS-124 mission's first scheduled spacewalk. During the six-hour, 48-minute spacewalk, Fossum and fellow astronaut Ron Garan prepared the Kibo Japanese Pressurized Module for its installation to the space station. Kibo was officially opened during a ceremony performed by astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and the Expedition 17 and STS-124 crew the following day, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
During the spacewalk, Fossum and Garan also loosened restraints holding the Orbiter Boom Sensor System in its temporary stowage location on the space station's starboard truss, demonstrated cleaning techniques for the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint's (SARJ) race ring and installed a replacement SARJ Trundle Bearing Assembly. Credit: NASA.
This image was taken on June 3, 2008 to examine dust that had fallen onto an exposed surface. The translucent particle highlighted at bottom center is of comparable size to white particles in a Martian soil sample (upper pictures) seen two sols earlier inside the scoop of Phoenix's Robotic Arm as imaged by the lander's Robotic Arm Camera. The white particles may be examples of the abundant salts found in the Martian soil by previous missions. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.
The color image was taken on June 3, 2008. Comparison with a black-and-white image (left) acquired during Phoenix's flight from Earth to Mars, identifies new particles deposited during the landing event. The particles are presumably samples from the Martian surface, although contamination from the lander itself cannot be ruled out. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.
This mosaic of four side-by-side microscope images (one a color composite) was acquired by the Optical Microscope, a part of the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument suite on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. Taken on the ninth Martian day of the mission, or Sol 9 (June 3, 2008), the image shows a 3 millimeter (0.12 inch) diameter silicone target after it has been exposed to dust kicked up by the landing. It is the highest resolution image of dust and sand ever acquired on Mars. The silicone substrate provides a sticky surface for holding the particles to be examined by the microscope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.