This 360-degree view from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the
spacecraft's solar arrays, lander deck and the Martian polar landscape
beyond. The hummocky terrain has a network of troughs and very few rocks,
typical of polar surfaces here on Earth.
Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager captured the images making up this mosaic
on the first and third martian days, or sols, of the mission (May 26 and
28, 2008). The spacecraft is capable of taking color, high-resolution
photos, but its first priority is to scan its surroundings with
black-and-white, lower-resolution images like these.
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.