Before I show the photos, I'll give a little background on the mission. The landing took place back in May 2008, and the rover is still exploring its soil for conditions for life. The thing that impresses me most is the science and engineering that went into the descent. How can you take a multi ton object traveling at 12,500 mph and safely land it in seven minutes in a very thin atmosphere? This video explains the whole process:
Now with that information, I thought you guys might appreciate these photos. What amazes me is how we can have a camera orbiting Mars taking real time snapshots of an event planned on earth a few years ago happening 36 million miles away.
The first photo: 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.
A second photo blown up:
Talk about an amazing photo!
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3 comments:
Hey 朋友,
This is not exactly related to your post, but did you hear about this Apollo 14 astronaut who claims aliens have made contact numerous times but it has been covered up by NASA?
LINK
Also, the Mythbusters plan on busting the Moon Landing Conspiracy Hoax.
I love the Mythbusters
Hey pung yo, is this a "William Shores Joint"?
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