Spacecraft reveals look at Mars’ polar region
Pasadena (Calif)—NASA’s newest outpost in the solar
system is a polygon-cracked terrain in Mars’ northern polar region
believed to hold a reservoir of ice beneath. Hours after the Phoenix
Mars Lander softly landed Sunday in the Martian arctic plains, it
dazzled scientists with the first-ever glimpse of the Red Planet’s
high northern latitudes.
A flood of images sent back by Phoenix revealed a
landscape similar to what can be found in Earth’s permafrost regions
— geometric patterns in the soil likely related to the freezing and
thawing of ground ice. “This is a scientist’s dream, right here on
this landing site,” principal investigator Peter Smith of the
University of Arizona, Tucson said in a briefing.
Phoenix landed on Mars after a 10-month, 422
million-mile journey. After a week checking out its science
instruments, the lander will begin a 90-day digging mission to study
whether the northern polar region possesses the raw ingredients
needed for life to emerge.—AP
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