BERLIN – Europe's experimental Mars probe hit the right spot — but at the wrong speed — likely ending up in a fiery ball of rocket fuel when it struck the surface at high speed, scientists said Friday.
Pictures taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a black spot where the Schiaparelli lander was meant to touch down Wednesday, the European Space Agency said. The images ended two days of speculation following the probe's unexpected radio silence 50 seconds before the planned landing.
Schiaparelli was meant to test technology for a more ambitious European Mars landing in 2020, and scientists say the data it sent back before going silent will prove highly useful for that mission. ESA stressed that Schiaparelli's mother ship was successfully placed into orbit Wednesday and will begin analyzing the Martian atmosphere in search for evidence of life.
Still, the crash-landing is a painful reminder of how hard it is to put a spacecraft on the surface of the red planet.
Associated Press
