May 27, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429

WASHINGTON, May 26: A Nasa probe sent back never-seen pictures of Mars’ north pole on Monday after a near perfect landing in the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet.

The first pictures from the Phoenix probe provided the first glimpse of the planet’s Arctic plains – a desolate landscape of stony, frozen ground.

The images also confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission’s energy supply had unfolded properly, and masts for the stereo camera and weather station had swung into vertical position.

A flat Martian valley floor shown on the pictures is expected to have water-rich permafrost within reach of the lander’s robotic arm.

“Seeing these images after a successful landing reaffirmed the thorough work over the past five years by a great team,” Goldstein told reporters.

After a nine-month journey from Earth, the Phoenix probe touched down in a relatively flat target area, according to Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at the mission’s control centre at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Radio signals received at 7:53pm Eastern Time (2353 GMT) Sunday confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown, officials said.

“For the first time in 32 years, and only the third time in history, a JPL team has carried out a soft landing on Mars,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration head Michael Griffin said in a statement. “I couldn’t be happier to be here to witness this incredible achievement.” —AFP