"Splat" of Schiaparelli Mars Lander Likely Found (spaceflightnow.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on Sunday October 23, 2016 @04:34AM from the missing-on-Mars dept.

Long-time Slashdot reader Tablizer quotes Space Flight Now: Views from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released Friday show the crash site where Europe's experimental Schiaparelli lander fell to the red planet's surface from a height of several miles, leaving a distinct dark patch on the Martian landscape...The image from MRO's context camera shows two new features attributed to the Schiaparelli spacecraft, including a large dark scar spanning an estimated 50 feet (15 meters) by 130 feet (40 meters). Schiaparelli's ground team believes it is from the high-speed impact of the lander's main body... A little more than a half-mile (1 kilometer) to the south, a bright spot appears in the image, likely the 39-foot-diameter (12-meter) supersonic parachute and part of Schiaparelli's heat shield, which released from the lander just before ESA lost contact."

4 of 106 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

There's a little black splat by Anonymous Coward · 2016-10-23 04:44 · Score: 5, Funny

on Mars today
1. Re:There's a little black splat by EETech1 · 2016-10-23 04:48 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It's the same black splat
  I saw yesterday...
2. Re:There's a little black splat by mrsquid0 · 2016-10-23 05:28 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Someone needs to police this thread...
  
  --
  Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
War Crimes! by Areyoukiddingme · 2016-10-23 05:13 · Score: 4, Funny

Stop the orbital bombardment of Mars! White cis-gendered males are attempting to continue their colonial exploitation of indigenous peoples! They're trying to buy Olympus Mons for a handful of beads! #martianlivesmatter