This approximate color view was obtained on sol, or Martian day, 2 by the Surface Stereo Imager on board the Phoenix lander. The view is toward the northwest, showing polygonal terrain near the lander and out to the horizon.
Mars, a cold desert planet with no liquid water on its surface, has water ice that lurks just below ground level in its arctic region. Discoveries made by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002 show large amounts of subsurface water ice in the northern arctic plain. Phoenix will use its robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to the water ice below and ultimately, to bring both soil and water ice to the lander platform for sophisticated scientific analysis.
For information on the Phoenix Mars Lander, visit www.nasa.gov/phoenix.Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University