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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a... Spacecraft?
Title
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a... Spacecraft?
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Observing the sky with the green filter of it panoramic camera, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit came across a surprise: a streak across the sky. The streak, seen in the middle of this mosaic of images taken by the navigation and panoramic cameras, was probably the brightest object in the sky at the time. Scientists theorize that the mystery line could be either a meteorite or one of seven out-of-commission spacecraft still orbiting Mars. Because the object appeared to move 4 degrees of an arc in 15 seconds it is probably not the Russian probes Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 5, or Phobos 2; or the American probes Mariner 9 or Viking 1. That leaves Viking 2, which has a polar orbit that would fit with the north-south orientation of the streak. In addition, only Viking 1 and 2 were left in orbits that could produce motion as fast as that seen by Spirit. Said Mark Lemmon, a rover team member from Texas A&M University, Texas, "Is this the first image of a meteor on Mars, or an image of a spacecraft sent from another world during the dawn of our robotic space exploration program? We may never know, but we are still looking for clues".
The inset shows only the panoramic image of the streak.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Observing the sky with the green filter of it panoramic camera, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit came across a surprise: a streak across the sky. The streak, seen in the middle of this mosaic of images taken by the navigation and panoramic cameras, was probably the brightest object in the sky at the time. Scientists theorize that the mystery line could be either a meteorite or one of seven out-of-commission spacecraft still orbiting Mars. Because the object appeared to move 4 degrees of an arc in 15 seconds it is probably not the Russian probes Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 5, or Phobos 2; or the American probes Mariner 9 or Viking 1. That leaves Viking 2, which has a polar orbit that would fit with the north-south orientation of the streak. In addition, only Viking 1 and 2 were left in orbits that could produce motion as fast as that seen by Spirit. Said Mark Lemmon, a rover team member from Texas A&M University, Texas, "Is this the first image of a meteor on Mars, or an image of a spacecraft sent from another world during the dawn of our robotic space exploration program? We may never know, but we are still looking for clues".
The inset shows only the panoramic image of the streak.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/Cornell
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/Cornell
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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JPL
Produced_By
JPL
Produced By
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Mission:
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Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Mission
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Spirit
Spacecraft
Spirit
Spacecraft
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Instrument:
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Panoramic Camera
Instrument
Panoramic Camera
Instrument
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Instrument:
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Navigation Camera
Instrument
Navigation Camera
Instrument
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Product Size:
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1174 samples x 1041 lines
Product_Size
1174 samples x 1041 lines
Product Size
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facet_what:
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Mariner
facet_what
Mariner
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Polar
facet_what
Polar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Spirit
facet_what
Spirit
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars
facet_what
Mars
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Viking
facet_what
Viking
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Dawn
facet_what
Dawn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars 3
facet_what
Mars 3
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mariner 9
facet_what
Mariner 9
facet_what
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facet_what:
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FAST
facet_what
FAST
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Panoramic Camera
facet_what
Panoramic Camera
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Phobos 2
facet_what
Phobos 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars 2
facet_what
Mars 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars 5
facet_what
Mars 5
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_what
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Navigation Camera (NC)
facet_what
Navigation Camera (NC)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Mars
facet_where
Mars
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Texas
facet_where
Texas
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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Image #:
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PIA05557
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA05557
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA05557
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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