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Explanation: The latest invader from Earth, the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) spacecraft, is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet's surface on Friday, December 3rd. If all goes well the robotic explorer will open a parachute, deploy landing legs, fire thrusters, and come to rest amidst rolling plains of intriguing layered terrain near the Martian South Pole. In this orbital image, a grid overlays the landing region with the targeted site indicated by a purple oval about 200 kilometers long by 20 kilometers wide. A secondary landing site is shown as a white oval while at the upper left an inset shows the area in relation to the pole. This polar landing region's layered terrain will hopefully allow MPL's instruments to view a record of climate changes in Martian history, like reading tree rings or layers in an ice core. Before landing, MPL will drop off two microprobes intended to penetrate the soil and look for water ice. Mars Polar Lander will also carry a small Mars Microphone.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mars - south pole
Publications with words: Mars - south pole
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 15 B Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
- APOD: 2025 July 6 B The Spiral North Pole of Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 29 B Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 22 B A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
- APOD: 2025 June 15 B Two Worlds One Sun
- Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity
- Deimos Before Sunrise