NASA probe lands in Martian arctic on search for life (AFP)

Artist's illustration obtained from NASA shows the Phoenix Mars Lander. The spacecraft successfully landed May 25 on Mars' frigid north pole region in a risk-fraught mission to search for signs the planet could have supported life, the US space agency said.(AFP/NASA) AFP - An ambitious effort to determine whether Mars' arctic region ever had microbial forms of life was underway Monday after NASA landed the Phoenix probe near the Red Planet's north pole and began sending pictures.