Phoenix Lander Parachuting To Martian Surface

The orbiting Mars Reconnaissance craft snapped this picture of the Phoenix lander parachuting to the Martian surface. Glowing for the camera from the heat of entering the Martian atmosphere. This is the first picture taken from a spacecraft of another craft landing on another planet.

"From a distance of about 310 kilometers (193 miles) above the surface of the Red Planet, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter pointed its HiRISE obliquely toward Phoenix shortly after it opened its parachute while descending through the Martian atmosphere. The image reveals an apparent 10-meter-wide (30-foot-wide) parachute fully inflated. The bright pixels below the parachute show a dangling Phoenix. The image faintly detects the chords attaching the backshell and parachute. The surroundings look dark, but corresponds to the fully illuminated Martian surface, which is much darker than the parachute and backshell."

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