Larger Annotated Version
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to land on the Martian northern
plains near 68 degrees north latitude, 127 degrees west longitude on May
25, 2008. In preparation for the landing, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter has been monitoring weather in the region around the landing site.
On April 20, 2008, the orbiter's Mars Color Imager camera captured this
view of a large region of northern Mars that includes the landing target
area in the lower right quadrant.
An annotated version of the image indicates the location of the landing
ellipse, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) long. The Context Camera on the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took an image of the landing area at the same
time the Mars Color Imager took this image. A dot within the landing
ellipse marks the location of two active dust devils visible in the
Context Camera image, PIA10633.
When the Mars Color Imager acquired this image, the season in Mars'
northern hemisphere was late spring. A few weeks earlier, the Phoenix
landing site was still covered with seasonal frost left over from the
previous winter.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the
spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, provided and operates
the Context Camera and Mars Color Imager.