This is an image of Mars taken from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Color Imager (MARCI). The Red Planet's polar ice-cap is in the middle of the image. Captured in this image is a 37,000 square-kilometer (almost 23,000 miles) dust storm that moved counter-clockwise through the Phoenix landing site on Oct 11, 2008, or Sol 135 of the mission.
Viewing this image as if it were the face of a clock, Phoenix is shown as a small white dot, located at about 10 AM. The storm, which had already passed over the landing site earlier in the day, is located at about 9:30 AM.
Photojournal Note: As planned, the Phoenix lander, which landed May 25, 2008 23:53 UTC, ended communications in November 2008, about six months after landing, when its solar panels ceased operating in the dark Martian winter.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) | Phoenix |
Instrument Host | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Phoenix Lander |
Host Type | Orbiter | Lander |
Instrument | Mars Color Imager (MARCI) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Atmosphere, Color, Dust, Storm | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2008-10-14 | |
Date in Caption | 2008-10-11 | |
Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11230 | |
Identifier | PIA11230 |