HiRISE images of the Phoenix landing site

NASA / JPL / U. Arizona / animation by Emily Lakdawalla

Phoenix landing site, before and after

This animation blinks back and forth between a "before" view of the Phoenix landing site, taken on January 24, 2007, and an "after" view, taken May 26, 2008. The "before" view is from HiRISE image PSP_002328_2485, centered near pixel 16500, 8050 on the map-projected color image (near 18600, 12000 on the map-projected grayscale image).

NASA / JPL / U. Arizona

Phoenix landing site as seen by HiRISE

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter caught this photo of the Phoenix landing site just 22 hours after the successful landing. The lander sits at the top of the image, amid a slightly darkened patch of dust; the darkening most likely results from the disturbance of dust by Phoenix' landing jets. At right center is a double black spot. One of the black spots is the heat shield, and one of them is a bounce mark from the heat shield. It appears that the heat shield is turned outside-up, so that we see the surface that was blackened by Phoenix' fiery entry. Near the bottom of the image is the backshell and parachute, with its own bounce mark. It is even possible to make out the twisted shroud lines connecting the parachute to the backshell. The backshell is about 300 meters away from Phoenix, and is visible near the southern horizon in Phoenix' panoramaic photos.

NASA / JPL / U. Arizona

Backshell and parachute as seen by Phoenix

In this image, captured on sol 1 of Phoenix' mission on Mars, the backshell and parachute are visible as a white spot near the horizon. On the distant horizon, what appears to be a low line of hills is the boundary of the topographic valley in which Phoenix' landing area sits.