A 10 um solid glass probe, landed on the surface of an alien environment, the end of an optical fibre.
The fibre has been acid etched to form a crater, perfectly designed for the arrival of the probe. In it’s new home the glass microsphere probe will take measurements of the surrounding environment and send data back to human controllers, transmitting light through the core of the optical fibre itself.
(SEM image of silica microspere on optical fibre)
Tanner Lab 