Monday, October 24, 2016

Camera on Mars Orbiter Shows Signs of Latest Mars Lander


NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified new markings on the surface of the Red Planet that are believed to be related to Europe's Schiaparelli test lander, which arrived at Mars on Oct. 19.

The new image shows a bright spot that may be Schiaparelli's parachute, and a larger dark spot interpreted as resulting from the impact of the lander itself following a much longer free fall than planned, after thrusters switched off prematurely. It was taken by the Context Camera (CTX) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and is available online, as a before-and-after comparison with an image from May 2016, at:
http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/?ImageID=8131

Source:http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6658

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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