buried in a larger trench phoenix ' s robotic arm connected with a hard surface that has scientists agitated about the prospect of next uncovering an icy blanket . " we have drilled a trench and uncovered a cold layer at the same depth as the surface layer in our other trench , " said washington university robotic section director for phoenix , ray arvidson . the arm tried at about one times to penetrate the surface , but was unsuccessful . as a result the body went into a waiting patterns , awaiting its next commands .
A robotic arm has been used for scientific discoveries.