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> Phoenix landing site, vertical projection

Phoenix landing site, vertical projection

author: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Novapix

reference: a-mar12-00028

Image Size 300 DPI: 25 * 25 cm

This view is a vertical projection that combines more than 500 exposures taken by the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and projects them as if looking down from above. The black circle on the spacecraft is where the camera itself is mounted on the lander, out of view in images taken by the camera. North is toward the top of the image. The height of the lander's meteorology mast, extending toward the southwest, appears exaggerated because that mast is taller than the camera mast. This view in approximately true color covers an area about 30 meters by 30 meters (about 100 feet by 100 feet). The landing site is at 68.22 degrees north latitude, 234.25 degrees east longitude on Mars. The ground surface around the lander has polygonal patterning similar to patterns in permafrost areas on Earth. This view comprises more than 100 different Stereo Surface Imager pointings, with images taken through three different filters at each pointing. The images were taken throughout the period from the 13th Martian day, or sol, after landing to the 47th sol (June 5 through July 12, 2008). The lander's Robotic Arm is cut off in this mosaic view because component images were taken when the arm was out of the frame.

Keywords for this photo:

2008 - ASTRONOMY - LANDSCAPE - MARS - MARTIAN SURFACE - PANORAMA - PHOENIX - PLANET - SAMPLE - SOIL - SOLAR PANEL - SPACECRAFT - SPACEPROBE - VASTITAS BOREALIS -