Categories: MarsMissions

Mars Arctic in 3D from Phoenix

OK, everyone: get out your funky 3-D glasses for a whole new look at Mars! We’ve seen the smooth plains of Meridiani from Opportunity in 3-D; we’ve gazed upon the rocky terrain of Gusev Crater from Spirit in more than two dimensions. But now it’s time to feast your eyes on Mars’ arctic tundra as its never been seen before: in super frozen 3-D from the Phoenix lander! The image above shows a color, stereoscopic 3D view of the Martian surface near the lander, and is one of Phoenix’s workplaces called “Wonderland.” But wait! There’s more…..


This 3-D view is from an image acquired by Phoenix’s Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 33, the 33rd Martian day of the mission (June 28, 2008). Phoenix’s solar panel is seen in the bottom right corner of the image.


Here’s a close up view of where all the action has been taking place recently: the trench called “Snow White.” The hole to the left of the trench, seen in the upper left of the image, is informally called “Burned Alive. This image was taken on Sol 22, but recently, Phoenix has scooped and rasped the area in an effort to get “shaved ice” samples.

Here’s a great touchy-feely 3-D image (don’t you just want to reach out and touch that rock?) The largest rock seen in this image is called “Midgard.” The edge of Phoenix’s deck is seen in the bottom right corner of the image.

There’s lots more 3-D loveliness at the Phoenix Image Gallery. Have fun!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

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