NASA 美国宇航局的每日一图

Explanation: Will Phoenix survive its landing today on Mars? Phoenix's landing sequence will ramp up starting at about 7:30 pm EDT (23:30 UTC) today and last just over an hour. If all goes well, one of Phoenix's first images fromMars will appear on APOD tomorrow. The Phoenix Lander is programmed to set down near the North Pole of Mars, and, over the next three months, sample alien soil and ice and look for conditions conducive for ancient microbiallife. Shown above is an artistic animation of what it might look like to see Phoenix land on Mars. In the animated sequence, the Phoenix spacecraft arrives at Mars, deploys its braking parachute, jettisons its heat shield, fires it thrusters, lands, unfurls its solar panels, deploys its instruments, scoops up some of Mars, and begins its analysis.

影像版权与提供: Dirk Ewers 说明: 2008年5月12日，当国际太空站从德国Hombressen的夜空飞掠而过时，它仍然沐浴在阳光里。从离太空站至少360公里的地面，使用小口径望远镜的天文学家Dirk Ewers，为此次飞越拍下这段极为清晰的影像系列，并用部份定格组成上面这幅影像。太空站带着太阳能板的舱体全长将近90公尺。摄影的当头佛恩号搬运船正停泊在太空站，并一同以27,800公里的时速环绕地球。