NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has successfully landed on Mars on May 25 in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis.

Below is an approximate-colour image taken shortly after landing by the spacecraft’s Surface Stereo Imager, which shows a polygonal pattern in the ground, similar in appearance to icy ground in the arctic regions of earth.

Mars picture from Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft
Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

The mission aims to study the geologic history of water, the key to unlocking the story of past climate change; and to search for evidence of a habitable zone that may exist in the ice-soil boundary. Updates about the mission is available on NASA’s website.


2 Responses to “Phoenix touched down on Mars”

  1. #1. bb on May 29th, 2008

    was this picture taken close-up or from far?

  2. #2. Yein Jee on May 29th, 2008

    NASA didn’t give the exact distance; I guess it’s taken close up (after landing).


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