Great Pheonix Landing Photo

One last mention of the Pheonix landing on Mars. Using the high-resolution HiRise camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA scientists have acquired this stunning shot of the Pheonix lander parachuting down onto the martian surface. As the lander uses the sparse atmosphere of Mars to slow down, the pod, drogue and cabling are clearly displayed in this chance satellite footage. Truly an astounding image.

Still no word on the Polar Bear object ...

The Pheonix has Landed!

NASA's Pheonix Mars lander has touched down safely on the North pole of the red planet, a few minutes before 5 pm PST. It landed with less than half a degree of tilt, meaning that it avoided any rocks as its thrusters put it down. "It's in a nice flat place, all nice and happy."

Check out the visualization here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7400375.stm

The Odyssey orbiter will fly back over the Pheonix in 1.5 hours, which will yield the first footage of the lander.

Personally, I was glued to the live coverage of this event for the 15 minutes before and after the landing. NASA offered live online broadcast of mission control, which was available here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

UPDATE: Check out the latest images streamed from the Odyssey orbiter that is examining the lander: http://fawkes4.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=0&cID=8