NASA announced its Mars Phoenix Lander had sent home the first ever image showing a sample of Martian dust; the photo was taken with the help of an atomic force microscope.

The size of the dust particle does not exceed one micrometer (to get a better understanding of it, try to imagine splitting one meter into one million parts); this is the type of dust observable throughout the surface of Mars - it is the reason why the planet looks red and also why its skies are pink.

Urs Staufer of the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, Phoenix co-investigator, said this was the first image of a "clay-sized particle on Mars" the agency has ever received; he added that "the size agrees with predictions from the colors seen in sunsets on the Red Planet."

The Phoenix lander is currently continuing the work of Opportunity and Spirit, NASA’s Mars rovers that had been on the Red Planet’s surface for about four years. The findings so far suggest the fact that Mars used to be too salty to sustain life. The lander’s mission is now to dig under the planet’s frozen surface and determine whether or not the planet has any sort of microbial life and if there are any chances for it to be habitable.

August has been quite a month for the people involved in the project, as very recently, the Phoenix managed to find a sometimes toxic chemical called perchlorate on the planet’s surface.

It seems the huge sums of money invested in the mission are paying off and valuable information keeps being brought in. Make sure to check back to find out more.