A small lander riding piggyback on Europe's comet-bound Rosetta spacecraft snapped an image of Mars during a weekend flyby.

Mars stretches out below one a solar wing of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe, which swung past the red planet on Feb. 25, 2007 (Local Time at Mission Control in Darmstadt, Germany).

During the probe’s closest approach, many of its primary instruments were switched off. But instruments aboard Rosetta’s Philae comet lander were wide-eyed and alert, resulting in this stunning view.

This marked the first time Philae operated completely autonomously, drawing power from its own batteries, and serves as a dress rehearsal when the small lander touches down on the Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.

Rosetta is taking a roundabout path to the comet. The spacecraft flew by Earth in 2005 and now Mars. It will make another Earth pass later this year and then again in 2009.

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• A Comet Tale: At Last, Europe's Rosetta Mission is Ready for Flight
• All About Mars
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• Mars Data Sheet

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: CIVA/Philae /ESA Rosetta.