This image shows a polygonal pattern in the ground near NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of Earth.
Phoenix Opens Its Eyes
This image, one of the first captured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice.
The Ground Beneath Phoenix's Feet
This view of a portion of the spacecraft deck and one of the footpads of NASA's three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander shows a solid surface at the spacecraft's landing site. As the legs touched down on the surface of Mars, they kicked up some loose material on top of the footpad, but overall, the surface is unperturbed.
Each footpad is about the size of a large dinner plate, measuring 11.5 inches from rim to rim. The base of the footpad is shaped like the bottom of a shallow bowl to provide stability.
This image was taken by the Phoenix spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager shortly after landing on Mars.
Solar Power Grid
Shown here is one of the first images taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander of one of the octagonal solar panels, which opened like two handheld, collapsible fans on either side of the spacecraft. Beyond this view is a small slice of the north polar terrain of Mars.
The successfully deployed solar panels are critical to the success of the 90-day mission, as they are the spacecraft's only means of replenishing its power. Even before these images reached Earth, power readings from the spacecraft indicated to engineers that the solar panels were already at work recharging the spacecraft's batteries.
Before deploying the Surface Stereo Imager to take these images, the lander waited about 15 minutes for the dust to settle.
Phoenix's New Neighborhood
The center of the red circle on this map shows where NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander eased down to the surface of Mars, at approximately 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude. Before Phoenix landed, engineers had predicted it would land within the blue ellipse.
Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis.
The map shows a color-coded interpretation of geomorphic units -- categories based on the surface textures and contours. The geomorphic mapping is overlaid on a shaded relief map based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
This is unreal. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter actually caught a picture of it descending.