NASA's Phoenix on the martian polar plains

This movie shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars, as seen by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shortly after touching down on the Red Planet. 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 freezing and thawing of surface ice.

Phoenix touched down on Mars 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 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.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• space
• nasa
• phoenix
• mars
• martian
• polar
• plains
• shuttle
• marte
• aterrizaje
• landing
• science
• life

[Blueicm]

Humans once lived there. 2000 years from now they will live on venus. That is one of the Illuminati greatest secrets.

[lalungenuictdestens]

Oooh shut up! don't be such an idiot! grow up!

[johnsmdm]

no shrubbery, no life there sirs..

[lalungenuictdestens]

Life, of course, shouldn't be shrubbery, trees, big headed aliens... if life exists(or existed) in Mars, would be more alike bacterial forms. :)

[Zypor]

If you look very closely at the images you can see that the terrain is harbouring life - lots of it! What kind of life it is has yet to be determined but the whole visible area is a huge city of micro-proportions.

The problem is that NASA/JPL hasn't noticed it. But I expect they will notice at sometime.

[lalungenuictdestens]

Well... not actually... what you see is permafrost... this mission is to find if there is the elements of the life... or, going beyond... unicellular life. :) thanks for commenting.

[HugeDeek]

LOl then why are you revealing it.

[Blueicm]

YOU don't be an idiot. How do you assume it was common knowledge of the nine planets long before telescopes. Look it up before you say something is ridiculous. Let me ask do you think the government keeps secrets? If you say no your a fool and if you say yes then for how long have they been keeping them? In your head you think can explain something then you find holes and stop. You think your told everything. Tell me who or what is Lucifer? Why are rich people building bases? Don't be so naive

[1000645]

I think that there HAD been life on mars...

[lalungenuictdestens]

Amen!

[foom5]

nasa ftw

[metros95]

I reckon that soil can harbour life.

[lalungenuictdestens]

Yeeeah! Me too! :)

[nnightwalker]

it makes me so exicted. thanx nasa!

[saintrow69]

cool

[lalungenuictdestens]

I didn't make it... NASA did it... is a panoramic picture of the surface of the martian north pole... :) it's not my fault ;) Blame NASA boy :P

[c0mpshades45]

yeah, wtf is with using only one image? lmao

[revjimbob]

Excellent idea - just zooming and panning on 1 picture. Simple and awesome.

[Salladsdressing]

I thought the surface on the polar regions would be white?