Space Image of the Day Gallery (May 2016)

Standing at Mars' North Pole

NASA/JPL/Arizona State University, R. Luk

Tuesday, May 31, 2016: Astronauts may not live on Mars yet, but this stunning view shows what an explorer might see on the Red Planet's north pole. This image is a 3D view created from observations recorded by the THEMIS instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Last week, scientists announced that Mars appears to be emerging from an ice age, a discovery suggested by the growth of its polar ice caps. Read the full story here.

--Tariq Malik

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.