凤凰号的红色星球自拍
NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander gathered images of itself for this selfie from June 5 through July 12, 2008, with its Surface Stereo Imager (SSI). This mosaic is made up of more than 100 different SSI pointings, with images taken through three different filters at each pointing. 15 years ago in August 2008, Phoenix completed its three-month mission studying Martian ice, soil, and atmosphere. The goals of the Phoenix Mars Lander were to study the history of water in the Martian arctic, search for evidence of a habitable zone, and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary. More broadly, the lander was designed to determine whether life ever existed on Mars, characterize the climate and geology of the Red Planet, and to help prepare for…