Doug said:

"I'm fairly sure MRO will find all of those - of particular interest would be to see a MPL's backshell, parachute and heatshield + impact site. It's worrying that MOC didnt spot them - despite seing the MER hardware so very easily."

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If MPL augered-in as a single mass at high speed then it might be embedded in the regolith or shattered into tiny pieces (nothing to see). The MER heatshield had a significantly lower ballistic coefficient when it augered-in. That's why it's semi-intact. There should be a detached semi-intact heat shield from MPL laying on the Martian surface. If it's not there then Phoenix maybe in trouble.

The Viking heat shields will also be on the Martian surface and in better shape than MER's. Viking's heat shield structure was rib-and-stringer aluminum sheet metal unlike the more fragile aluminum honeycomb used by MER.

Gary