
The photo was captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This is the first time that a spacecraft has imaged the final descent of another spacecraft onto a planetary body. You can see the lander, its parachute, and the lines that attach the two on the brightened photo, with a background of the Martian surface.
(hat tip: Chris Considine)