This view is a vertical projection that combines hundreds of exposures
taken by the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander
and projects them as if looking down from above.
The black circle is where the camera itself is mounted on the lander, out
of view in images taken by the camera. North is toward the top of the
image.
This view comprises more than 100 different Stereo Surface Imager
pointings, with images taken through three different filters at each
pointing. The images were taken throughout the period from the 13th
Martian day, or sol, after landing to the 47th sol (June 5 through July
12, 2008). The lander's Robotic Arm appears cut off in this mosaic view
because component images were taken when the arm was out of the frame.
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.
