This has been all over the astrosphere, so I don't really need to talk much about the spectacular success of the Phoenix lander. I just wanted to share this amazing image:
That's Phoenix, still hanging from its parachute and descending on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera, with the Heimdall crater in the background. The lander is some 20km in front of the crater, and it can be better seen in the inset. Click on the image for more details and for larger versions of the image. Later on, the same camera photographed the landing site, showing Phoenix, its parachute and the remains of the heat shield very clearly. As everyone knows, the landing went on with no problems, but had anything gone wrong we'd probably know a lot about what happened.
Interestingly enough, Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and of the bridge between Midgard (the Earth) and Asgard (the land of the gods) in the Norse mythology. He seems to have allowed Phoenix through.
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