More Impact Craters from MSL

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HICLIP







WALLPAPER























HIFLYER





HISLIDES











The Mars Science Laboratory mission released a total of 8 tungsten masses for balance purposes during entry and descent. Two 75-kilogram masses were released at the top of the atmosphere, and the resultant craters were probably imaged in .



At a much lower altitude, six 25-kilogram masses were released shortly before deployment of the parachute in a maneuver called Straighten Up and Flight Right (SUFR), to realign the capsule center of mass with the parachute axis of symmetry. These six impact sites were . This HiRISE image reveals impact craters about 2 meters wide. We captured four of these craters .



HiRISE has now imaged the crash sites for these 8 tungsten masses, parts of the cruise stage, the heat shield, the backshell and parachute, and the descent stage. Most of the stuff we sent to Mars crashed on the surface--everything except the Curiosity rover.







Written by: Alfred McEwen (audio by Tre Gibbs) (27 February 2013)

