NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has recognized new markings on the surface area of the Mars that are believed to be connected with ESA’s ExoMars Schiaparelli entrance, coming down and crashing.
Schiaparelli entered the martian sky at 14:42 GMT on 19 October for its 6-minute coming down to the surface, but contact was lost quickly before expected coming in. Data recorded by its mothership, the Trace Gas Orbiter, are at this point being analysed to understand what occurred during the descent routine.
Meanwhile, the low-resolution CTX camera on-board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) took images of the expected touching down location in Meridiani Planum on 20 October as part of a planned imaging operation.The picture released today has a resolution of 6 metres per pixel and discovers two new features on the surface when compared with an image from the same camera system taken in May this year.