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
contraction and expansion of surface ice.
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,
at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.
This is an approximate-color image taken shortly after landing by the spacecraft's
Surface Stereo Imager, inferred from two color filters, a violet, 450-nanometer
filter and an infrared, 750-nanometer filter.
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.