The robotic arm is a vital instrument on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. It will dig into the icy soil and bring samples back to the science deck of the spacecraft for analysis.

Among the seven systems include, two control spacecraft functions such as position-keeping and data-handling, and five will manage functions on the satellite's scientific instrument.

Data from a NASA instrument aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft show evidence of water molecules on the surface of the moon.