First Raw Images From Mars by the Phoenix Lander

Phoenix is the first probe to have successfully landed on the surface of Mars since the Viking landers of 1976.

Its 90-day mission is to analyze the soils and permafrost of Mars' arctic tundra for signs of past or present life.

The lander is equipped with a robotic arm capable of scooping up ice and dirt to look for organic evidence that life once existed there, or even exists now.

These are the first images sent by the lander to JPL