The descent of Phoenix captured by HiRISE
Date: 27 May 2008
Satellite: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Depicts: Phoenix
Copyright: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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. The inset shows an improved full-resolution image of the parachute and lander.
The 10 kilometre diameter crater in the background is informally called "Heimdall". Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometres 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, California. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.
The Phoenix lander, which landed 25 May 2008 at 23:53 UTC, operated on Mars for two months longer than planned. It ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.
