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PIA10705: Phoenix Descending with Crater in the Background
This image shows NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Phoenix 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
Phoenix Lander
 Instrument:  HiRISE 
 Product Size:  1500 x 746 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  University of Arizona 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA10705.tif (1.12 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA10705.jpg (184.9 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera acquired this image of Phoenix hanging from its parachute as it descended to the Martian surface. Shown here is a 10 kilometer (6 mile) diameter crater informally called "Heimdall," and an improved full-resolution image of the parachute and lander. Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) in front of the crater.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
2008-05-27