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
#nasa #space #marslander #exomars #science
Looks like a bug on a really big windshield.
ReplyDeleteHope it does not turn out to be another case of metric versus standard being used by different departments... I was really looking forward to ESA's test and future landings based on this test...
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