Mars '98 payloads integrated as scientists view first close-ups of strange, layered polar terrain

Posted by jburk to Mars Polar Lander at February 13, 1998 12:00 PM

Swirling bands of eroded, layered rock, reminiscent of the edges of Alaskan ice sheets, and an array of light and dark mottled patterns blanket the frigid floor of Mars' south pole, where NASA's newly named Mars Polar Lander will touch down in late 1999.