This panorama mosaic of images was taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on
board NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. This mosaic documents the midnight sun
during several days of the mission.
The foreground and sky images were taken on Sol 54, or the 54th Martian
day of the mission (July 20, 2008). The solar images were taken between 10
p.m. and 2 a.m., local solar time, during the nights of sols 46 to 56.
During this period of 11 sols, the sun's path got slightly lower over the
northern horizon, causing the lack of smoothness to the curve. This pan
captures the polar nature of the Phoenix mission in its similarity to time
lapse pictures taken above the Arctic Circle on Earth.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf
of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver.
