Microscopy, electrochemistry, and conductivity analyzer (MECA) payload on Mars '07 Phoenix lander

The Mars environmental compatibility assessment (MECA), originally sponsored by NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space Office, was planned to be launched as payload on the 2001 Mars surveyor lander which was cancelled as a result of the Mars climate orbiter and Mars polar lander failures in 1999. As originally planned, MECA was designed to analyze Martian soil for properties that might pose hazards to future astronauts. Renamed the microscopy, electrochemistry, and conductivity analyzer, MECA is now a payload on the Mars Phoenix lander, scheduled for launch in 2007.