Just before the spacecraft entered the martian atmosphere, the MSSS team
received confirmation that the MARDI had powered - up and was ready to take pictures
during the
descent.
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia and eight of the ten telescopes of the continent - wide Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), located at Pie Town and Los Alamos, NM, Fort Davis, TX, North Liberty, IA, Kitt Peak, AZ, Brewster, WA, Owens Valley, CA, and Mauna Kea, HI, will directly
receive the faint signal from Huygens
during its
descent.