The Phoenix Mars Lander received an extra day for digging around the planet’ soil, after the first results came out unsatisfactory. Apparently, the excavation process needs a little more work before the technique can be considered sufficiently good for the real excavation.

"The team felt they weren't really comfortable yet with the digging and dumping process," said chief scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, as quoted by the Associated Press. He also added that the procedure has not yet been properly mastered.

The extra day will be used to further test the 8-foot robotic arm’s ability to dig the ground, scoop a certain amount of samples and drop it in the Lander’s container.  

The Phoenix was launched on August 4 last year and involved an U.S. investment for the development, science instruments, launch and operations of about $420 million. The Canadian Space Agency also contributed with $37 million for the meteorological station. Phoenix is the sixth successful landing on Mars, out of twelve total international attempts.

The Phoenix Mars Lander has been equipped with six science instruments,  the Robotic Arm, the Robotic Arm Camera, the Surface Stereo Imager, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer and the Meteorological Station, each with a series of features needed in order to successfully reach the mission’s objectives.

This mission in particular will be very challenging, considering that everyone expects Phoenix to confirm pro-Martian life theories and infirm the pessimistic approach according to which life on Mars is unlikely to have ever existed.