‘Phoenix’ scraped at an ice layer buried underneath the soil in what mission scientists call the “Snow White” trench. The lander used a blade attached to its robotic arm to scrape up small piles of icy soil that each contain between two and four teaspoonfuls of material. The robotic arm will now scoop up that material and sprinkle it into the lander’s Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. That instrument will use its ovens to “bake” the sample and “sniff” any gases it gives off (water vapor, for example), to determine its composition.

NASA scientists say they are “flabbergasted” to find that soil on Mars appears rich enough to grow such Earth-bound plants as asparagus.

U.S. space researchers revealed the results of their first “wet” chemical analysis of Martian dirt Thursday and said it is not as acidic as expected, appearing to have the requirements and nutrients to support life.