Amazing Orbital Imaging from Mars
I read this BBC article on Martian orbital imaging quite some time ago, but haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now.
The coolest thing for me is not actually the point of the article, that scientist Michael Malin and his team may have identified, from images captured by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor, the spot (literally!) where the Mars Polar Lander crashed to the ground.
Nor is it the coolest thing that Dr. Malin's team has identified from orbit the discarded parachute on which Mars Rover "Spirit" descended to the surface. Indeed, the coolest thing also isn't their identification on the surface of either the so-called "backshield" that protected the rover during atmospheric entry or the rover itself.
To understand how cool the coolest thing actually is, you have to remember how the rovers actually reached the surface: after riding the parachute down for the majority of the trip from orbit, the rover inflated a whole bunch of very tough balloons around itself and then let go of the parachute!
You see, the very coolest thing the Malin team has identified from orbit is the marks on the surface made by the rover as it bounced several times before settling down.
Well, I think it's pretty darned cool, anyway.