The Mars Phoenix Lander is sending NASA the first photos of the red planet's northern polar region, CNN reports. On its 3-month mission, the lander will “taste and sniff the northern polar site’s soil and ice,” the agency said. The photos show brown polygons checkering the landscape as far as the eye can see.
"It's surprisingly close to what we expected and that's what surprises me most," said the mission's principal investigator. "I expected a bigger surprise." (More Mars rover stories.)