NASA has shown a color picture of the site on Mars where Schiaparelli has broken

The European Space Agency (ESA) published a color picture of the site on Mars where the lowered module of the Russian-European mission “ExoMars” crashed. Pictures were taken on November 1 by the device NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

As explain in the agency, this picture in comparison with the previous black-and-white image “is slightly shifted” to the West while previous showed more details from East side.

“The last pictures shed light on some details about which it was only possible to speculate after the first photos. So, about several bright white spots around dark area it is possible to tell about confidence now that they are real objects, but not digital noise on the image. Therefore, they with high probability are Schiaparelli fragments”, – it is said in the message of the agency.

To the south, in 900 meters from this area, the parachute of the device and the heat-shielding screen is imprinted. As note in the ESA, outlines of a parachute changed in comparison with October 25 when the last picture was made. “It would be logical to explain it with the fact that the parachute shifted wind”, – believe in the ESA.

The Russian-European mission “ExoMars-2016” was started from Baikonur Cosmodrome by means of the carrier rocket “Proton-M” on March 14. The device TGO and the demonstration landing Schiaparelli module were a part of a mission.

Devices reached the Red planet in October. The orbital TGO module intended for studying of gas composition of the atmosphere and distribution of water ice in soil of Mars, and Schiaparelli were successfully divided on October 16. Contact with the lander broke on October 19 at the time of its descent to the Martian surface. On October 22 confirmed to the ESA that the landing module crash-landed on the red planet.

The second stage of a mission “ExoMars” was initially planned for 2020. On this project stage sending to the Red planet of the Russian landing platform and the European mars rover is provided. Drilling and the analysis of the Martian soil will become key tasks at this stage. Scientists believe that at a depth of several meters traces of organic life could remain.

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