SCHIAPARELLI LANDING SITE

The landing site of the Schiaparelli module and the parachute can be seen in the latest pictures provided by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter.

The bright white object at the bottom of the image is believed to be the 12-m diameter parachute used to decelerate Schiaparelli after the initial heat shield entry. The parachute and the associated back shield were released from Schiaparelli prior to the final phase, during which its nine thrusters should have slowed it to a standstill just above the surface.

Initial indications are that the parachute system, which was designed and qualified by Vorticity, operated successfully.

The dark spot on the image is associated with the Schiaparelli module.

Picture copyright  NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS