Here's a pretty amazing photo.
It's a shot snapped by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which began circling the red planet back in March 2006, of the Phoenix Mars Lander (illustration, right), which made a successful landing over the weekend. The photo, the first-ever shot by one spacecraft of another spacecraft in the Martian atmosphere, shows the module descending by parachute on Sunday evening.
Quite a feat directed from 35 million miles away.
Images from the lander almost immediately began pouring in once it had reached the surface. The probe landed near the planet's north pole where scientists hope to find evidence of water and life.
Two informative clips describing the Martian mission, AFTER THE JUMP…