The recently-launched Phoenix Lander scooped up some Martian soil on Saturday, leaving behind “an impression that resembles a footprint at a place provisionally named Yeti,” according to NASA.
“This first touch allows us to utilize the Robotic Arm accurately. We are in a good situation for the upcoming sample acquisition and transfer,” said David Spencer, Phoenix’s surface mission manager from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The lander also took photos of what scientists believe to be ice, which is what the lander is supposed to be looking for.