My Pick of Pic's November 30, 2003 Journey to Mars - Terminal Desent As the journey continues, we catch up with the rover right before touch down. The rover is now dangling at the end of a tether. It is connected to the rear aeroshell and above that, the parachute. It has survived the heat of entry, deployed the parachute, inflated the airbags and fired the retrorockets. It can sense the ground below with radar and has snapped pictures with its decent imager. Within seconds, it will cut the tether and hit the ground! Previous Images in the Journey to Mars Series Blastoff Third Stage Engine Ignition Mars Atmospheric Entry Mars Exploration Rover Mars Web @ JPL