Mars Photo of the Day
Charles Johnson
Mon May 26, 2008 at 6:55 pm PDT • Views: 518
How cool is this? A satellite orbiting Mars actually got a photo of the Phoenix probe parachuting down to the surface.
PASADENA, California (Reuters) - A sharp-eyed Mars orbiter snapped an image of sister probe Phoenix descending through Martian skies toward a polar landing site to search for water and assess conditions for life, mission managers said on Monday.
Phoenix touched down at 4:53 p.m. PDT (7:53 p.m. EDT/2353 GMT) on Sunday, becoming the first spacecraft to reach a polar region of Mars. Problems during descent doomed NASA’s first polar lander in 1999.
The unprecedented image, taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as a result of careful planning and good luck, shows the small probe dangling beneath its parachute.
Frank says: