AFM-System on Mars:

For each experiment a job list is sent from Earth, via the Orbiter to the Lander computer on Mars. The following operations then run fully autonomously. First the Martian soil containing water ice is scooped by the robot arm and loaded on to a sample plate. Then the sample wheel is rotated by 180 degrees and approached to within the scan range of the AFM. Afterwards the electronics moves the scan head and with the selected cantilever, it makes an image of the sample. Finally the images are stored on the Lander computer and after a hard Martian day’s work, sent down to Earth.