5 Dollars - Elizabeth II Observation of Mars

Cook Islands became a reliable vehicle for themed commemorative issues after New Zealand's Niue and other Pacific dependencies proved the market viable in the early 2000s. The 2009 Mars piece belongs to an astronomy series capitalizing on sustained public interest following the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's arrival in 2006 and the ongoing Phoenix lander mission, which confirmed water ice at the Martian north pole just a year before this coin was struck.