More Siding Spring images shooting past Mars captured by orbiter

More images of the remarkable once-in-a-million-year event, that saw a comet hurtle past Mars, have emerged. These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on 19 October 2014 during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft. It is the highest-resolution image of a comet that heralds from the Oort Cloud at the edge of the solar system ever taken The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was used to capture views of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring. Nasa's five robotic explorers at Mars - three orbiters and two rovers - were repurposed to witness the comet named Siding Spring make its first known visit to the inner solar system. This graphic shows the science observations that was hoped to be captured by Nasa's Mars spacecraft during the close encounter with Comet Siding Spring Nasa's Mars orbiters were lined up behind Mars for their 'duck and cover' maneuver to shield them from comet dust that may result from the close flyby of Comet Siding Spring yesterday, shown in this illustration, and some were also used to image the comet as it approached the planet The proximity of the comet will provide an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to gather data on both the comet and its effect on the Martian atmosphere.