[meteorite-list] Phoenix Images Discarded Heat Shield

[Ron Baalke]

http://jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images.php?fileID=16106

Crumpled Heat Shield
2008-09-17

The Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager took this image of the
spacecraft's crumpled heat shield on Sept. 16, 2008, the 111th Martian
day of the mission. The 2-1/2 meter (about 8-1/2 feet) heat shield
landed southeast of Phoenix, about halfway between the spacecraft and
its backshell/parachute. The backshell/parachute touched ground 300
meters (1,000 ft) to the south of the lander. The dark area to the right
of the heat shield is the "bounce mark" it made on impact with the Red
Planet. This image is the highest-resolution image that will likely be
taken by the lander, and is part of the 1,500-image "Happily Ever After"
panorama. The Phoenix mission is led by the University of Arizona,
Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is led by
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft
development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/ Texas A&M Univeristy