InSight landing field on photos from space

InSight landing field on photos from space

NASA's InSight spacecraft with a heat shield and parachute captured on December 6 and 11 by the HiRISE camera on the MRO orbiter

On November 26, NASA’s InSight landing team knew exactly that the spacecraft had successfully landed on Mars. Now, researchers have determined the exact location of the device using the HiRISE camera on the MRO orbiter, orbiting the Red Planet.

The InSight landing platform, a heat shield and a parachute can be viewed on the images obtained on December 6 and 11. All elements were within a few hundred meters of each other in the territory of the Elysian Highland — a flat lava plain. This is not the first time the MRO has fixed landing on the surface of the Red Planet. The InSight mission is based on the principles of the Phoenix spacecraft, whose landing the MRO recorded in 2008. It was not possible to activate the orbiter camera during the landing of the InSight, because the MRO was located at a much less suitable angle and could not take a good shot.

InSight landing field on photos from space

InSight Landing Pad

InSight landing field on photos from space

NASA InSight Landing Parachute

InSight landing field on photos from space

InSight Heat Shield

InSight landing field on photos from space

The red dot indicates the final landing position of the InSight ship. Photo taken in 2001 by NASA orbiter camera Mars Odyssey

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