We (Decagon Devices) are developing the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP) to fly on the 2007 Phoenix Scout mission to Mars. One of the primary tasks of the probe is to use heat pulse techniques to measure regolith thermal properties. This incidentally enables the probe to be used as a “free” heated needle anemometer. The TECP also includes a chip hygrometer which will measure the water vapor pressure in the Martian atmosphere. This paper addresses the uncertainties encountered while adapting Earth science to the Martian physical environment, and the strategies used to mediate these uncertainties and ensure that vapor pressure and wind speed measurements are within acceptable accuracy despite being taken 35 million miles away.