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Spacesuit Task Force
The Space Show
Phoenix Landing Area Viewed By Mars Color Imager
by Staff Writers Pasadena CA (SPX) May 13, 2008
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to land on the Martian northern plains
near 68
degrees north latitude, 127 degrees west longitude on May 25, 2008. In
preparation for
the landing, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been monitoring weather in
the
region around the landing site. On April 20, 2008, the orbiter's Mars Color
Imager camera
captured this view of a large region of northern Mars that includes the landing
target area
in the lower right quadrant.
An annotated version of the image indicates the location of the landing ellipse,
about 100
kilometers (60 miles) long. The Context Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter took
an image of the landing area at the same time the Mars Color Imager took this
image. A
dot within the landing ellipse marks the location of two active dust devils
visible in the
Context Camera image, PIA10633.
When the Mars Color Imager acquired this image, the season in Mars' northern
hemisphere was late spring. A few weeks earlier, the Phoenix landing site was
still covered
with seasonal frost left over from the previous winter.
ECIT2008 Session on The Science and Technology of Non-Agency Space Missions
Phoenix - The Case for Water
