[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/spotlight/20050412.html

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will follow clues to where the lost Mars Polar Lander and Beagle 2 might be.

[djellison]

Things that we should be able to find...

Viking 1 lander, Heatshield, Backshell & Chute

Viking 2 lander, Heatshield, Backshell & Chute

Pathfinder lander, heatshield, Backshell & Chute, and Sojourner of course - approx 5m, or 15 pixels away from the 1.5m or 5 pixel lander.

and of course - the same for Spirit and Opportunity ( we know exactly where they are but the higher res and colour imaging will be interesting )

and THEN....

MPL lander, perhaps heatshield, perhaps backshell and chute, perhaps just a crater.

Beagle 2 lander, perhaps backshell and chute, perhaps just a crater.

We know ROUGHLY where to look for those.

The observations of luck will be the earlier mars probes I would imagine. Mars 2, 3, 6 - and they were very small - B2 sized bodies iirc - so who knows what chance we have of finding them

As for the discarded cruise stages and MCO which will have burnt up on entry - I have no idea how much of them will have survived entry. Perhaps just the odd fuel tank a-la Delta II seconds stage earth entry - but we have no idea where to look

Doug