An image from the Nasa Phoenix Mars Lander shows the polygonal pattern on the surface of Mars.
Nasa's Phoenix Mars lander successfully touched down on the planet's surface early today on a mission that could yield evidence of primitive life amid the permafrost.
Jubilant mission controllers described landing the £212m probe as like scoring a hole in one at golf if you "tee off in Washington and the hole is in Sydney – and moving".
Less than two hours after landing, the Nasa spacecraft beamed back four dozen black and white images, including one of its foot sitting on Martian soil amid tiny rocks.
Others included the horizon of the arctic plain and ground with polygon patterns similar to those found in Earth's permafrost regions.
"Absolutely beautiful," Dan McCleese, a chief scientist at Nasa's jet propulsion laboratory, said. "It looks like a good place to start digging."
The final minutes of the 10-month, 420m-mile journey were nailbiting as the lander plummeted through the thin Martian atmosphere...
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