Picture of Phoenix Lander making it's decent to Mars

[brad]

This is way off topic, but maybe one of the most amazing pictures I have ever seen (without Alizée in it)

A satellite orbiting Mars was able to take this picture of the Phoenix lander on its way down to the surface. You can see the parachute and everything...



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ph...HX_Lander.html

[Tchaikovsky]

I don't see what's so amazing about it. It's just two white dots in a black void.

[Infatuated]

Right on! I saw that this morning too Brad. I have NASA's Astronomy picture of the day set as my home page. Very cool stuff going on with the Mars explorations.

[Infatuated]

Originally Posted by Tchaikovsky

I don't see what's so amazing about it. It's just two white dots in a black void.

That is the first picture EVER of a spacecraft landing on another planet. It was taken by a satellite 750km above the Mars surface.

Very exciting stuff in my book. But I'm a big nerd for space exploration and the like.

[HelixSix]

Originally Posted by Infatuated

Very exciting stuff in my book. But I'm a big nerd for space exploration and the like.

I'm the same way. Did you watch the live footage when the lander made its descent to the surface? It was pretty tense stuff...and imagine how many years/decades we could have been set back if any part of the landing sequence failed.

[nurvonic]

im glad that people still have interest in the space program. ill be honest, when i heard that the phoenix lander landed on mars, i really didnt think too much of it. we've landed on the planet before with other rovers.

what i am excited about though is a manned mission to mars. i think that would reignite excitement that the US and world had back in th 1960's. from what i've read, we should have a manned mission by the end of the next decade.

[heyamigo]

why is it so dark? the camera must have a weak flash.

[garçoncanadien]

naa
increase the iso settings XD

[heyamigo]

probably made its descent during the nighttime so they wouldn't disturb the martians.

[Geech]

It sure will be a very interesting mission with them landing it so close to mars north pole. Now the question is if they some type of water, liquid or solid.