Swirling bands of the 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. The new images of the landing zone for the Mars Polar Lander, taken by the camera abroad NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, confirm that this strange, layered terrain in the south polar region represents a dramatic depature from the Martian landscapes observed by the Viking landers and Mars Pathfinders.