spacetoday.net: MRO takes picture of Phoenix entry

MRO takes picture of Phoenix entry

Posted: Mon, May 26, 2008, 8:17 PM ET (0017 GMT)
Phoenix and parachute imaged by MRO (NASA/JPL)

NASA released Monday a stunning image of Phoenix as it descended towards the Martian surface, taken by another orbiting spacecraft. The high-resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft took the image, which shows the lander and its parachute at an altitude of between 1 and 10 kilometers above the Martian surface. The image was intended to provide a glimpse of the status of the lander had anything gone wrong during the entry and landing phase of the mission. Project officials said Monday that the spacecraft appeared to be in good condition and that another batch of telemetry and images would be transmitted back to Earth on Monday night.