Да, лента, но сложенная, по-моему. Потому что катушку может заесть.
The probe, referred to as a "self-hammering nail" and nicknamed "the mole", was designed to burrow 5 m (16 ft) below the Martian surface while trailing a tether with embedded heat sensors to study the thermal properties of Mars' interior, and thus reveal unique information about the planet's geologic history.