A Mars Panorama from the Phoenix Lander
Explanation:
If you could stand on Mars, what would you see?
The robotic
Phoenix spacecraft that
landed on Mars in 2008 recorded the
above spectacular panorama.
The
above image
is actually a digital combination of over 100 camera pointings and
surveys fully 360 degrees around the busy robotic laboratory.
Scrolling right will reveal the rest of the panoramic image.
Visible in the image foreground are circular
solar panels,
various Phoenix instruments,
rust colored rocks, a
trench dug by Phoenix to probe Mars' chemical composition,
a vast plateau of dirt and
dirt-covered ice, and, far in the distance, the
dust colored atmosphere of Mars.
Phoenix landed in the
far north of Mars and has used its
sophisticated
laboratory to search for signs that past life might have been possible.
Soil analyses have confirmed the
presence of
ice and gave
unexpected
indications of
perchlorate salts.
Whether Martian life could have evolved around such perchlorates is an ongoing
topic of research.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
