|
|
Gusev Crater, here we come!
PIA05335
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater, here we come! |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 3 January 2004 This evening at approximately 8:35 PST the Mars Exploration Rover named Spirit [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] will bounce to the ground somewhere in this scene. The image is composed of nine THEMIS VIS frames that have been mosaiced together, producing a complete picture of the region in which the rover is predicted to land. The dark streaks are places where wind has either scoured off the brighter martian dust or has covered it up by sand. Note the interesting lobes of material evident along the right side of the image just below the large crater. These may be due to the emplacement of water rich sediments or possibly lava flows. It is hoped that Spirit and all of its instruments will help us to understand the rich geologic history that is on display in this image. The biggest question to be answered: was Gusev Crater filled with water sometime in its ancient past? Stay tuned... Mosaic produced by Noel Gorelick, ASU/THEMIS Team. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.8, Longitude 175.2 East (184.8 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Gusev Crater, here we come!
PIA05335
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater, here we come! |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 3 January 2004 This evening at approximately 8:35 PST the Mars Exploration Rover named Spirit [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] will bounce to the ground somewhere in this scene. The image is composed of nine THEMIS VIS frames that have been mosaiced together, producing a complete picture of the region in which the rover is predicted to land. The dark streaks are places where wind has either scoured off the brighter martian dust or has covered it up by sand. Note the interesting lobes of material evident along the right side of the image just below the large crater. These may be due to the emplacement of water rich sediments or possibly lava flows. It is hoped that Spirit and all of its instruments will help us to understand the rich geologic history that is on display in this image. The biggest question to be answered: was Gusev Crater filled with water sometime in its ancient past? Stay tuned... Mosaic produced by Noel Gorelick, ASU/THEMIS Team. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.8, Longitude 175.2 East (184.8 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Spirit has Landed!
PIA05336
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Spirit has Landed! |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 5 January 2004 In the evening of January 3, the MER lander [ http://athena.cornell.edu/ ] Spirit [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/ ] came to a safe landing right in the middle of Gusev Crater (shown by red arrow). This is an area riddled with dust devil tracks in the summertime (note the many dark streaks). With some luck those dust devils have scoured the surface clean of dust, exposing the underlying rocks which hold the secrets of Mars' past. Over the next few months, the THEMIS team will be working with the Mini-TES [ http://minites.asu.edu/ ] instrument onboard Spirit to do extensive research in Gusev crater. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.6, Longitude 175.5 East (184.5 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Spirit has Landed!
PIA05336
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Spirit has Landed! |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 5 January 2004 In the evening of January 3, the MER lander [ http://athena.cornell.edu/ ] Spirit [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/ ] came to a safe landing right in the middle of Gusev Crater (shown by red arrow). This is an area riddled with dust devil tracks in the summertime (note the many dark streaks). With some luck those dust devils have scoured the surface clean of dust, exposing the underlying rocks which hold the secrets of Mars' past. Over the next few months, the THEMIS team will be working with the Mini-TES [ http://minites.asu.edu/ ] instrument onboard Spirit to do extensive research in Gusev crater. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.6, Longitude 175.5 East (184.5 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Gusev Crater in Infrared
PIA05348
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater in Infrared |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 8 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This infrared image covers most of the eastern side of Gusev Crater, slightly to the east of Spirit's landing spot. To the south, it shows the northern end of Ma'adim Vallis, which is thought to have brought water into Gusev Crater in the distant past. This image was taken on 2 August 2002. Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -14.4, Longitude 176.2 East (183.8 West). 100 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Gusev Crater in Infrared
PIA05348
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater in Infrared |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 8 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This infrared image covers most of the eastern side of Gusev Crater, slightly to the east of Spirit's landing spot. To the south, it shows the northern end of Ma'adim Vallis, which is thought to have brought water into Gusev Crater in the distant past. This image was taken on 2 August 2002. Image information: IR instrument. Latitude -14.4, Longitude 176.2 East (183.8 West). 100 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Gusev Crater
PIA05346
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 6 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.5, Longitude 175.8 East (184.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Gusev Crater
PIA05346
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Gusev Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 6 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14.5, Longitude 175.8 East (184.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Southern Gusev
PIA05349
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Southern Gusev |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 9 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This image, captured 22 June 2002, shows the southern area of Gusev crater and the northern end of Ma'adim Vallis, which is thought to have brought water into Gusev crater in the distant past. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -15.4, Longitude 175.6 East (184.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Southern Gusev
PIA05349
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Southern Gusev |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 9 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This image, captured 22 June 2002, shows the southern area of Gusev crater and the northern end of Ma'adim Vallis, which is thought to have brought water into Gusev crater in the distant past. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -15.4, Longitude 175.6 East (184.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Western Gusev
PIA05347
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Western Gusev |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 7 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This image shows some of the far-western areas of Gusev Crater, and was captured on 27 June 2003, while Spirit was en-route to Mars. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14, Longitude 174.8 East (185.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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Western Gusev
PIA05347
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
Western Gusev |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released 7 January 2004 Long before the MER landers were named or launched, the two orbiters at Mars were asked to examine landing sites. Both the Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have been collecting landing site data for the past two years. The MGS and ODY data were used as part of the decision making process in the final selection of the two landing sites. The types of data collected by the two orbiters included not only images of the surface but also thermal data about the surface composition, atmospheric data about the climate at each location, and the tracking of major dust storms in the region prior to landing. The presence of, and data collected by, the MGS and ODY orbiters have proven invaluable in MER mission planning. This image shows some of the far-western areas of Gusev Crater, and was captured on 27 June 2003, while Spirit was en-route to Mars. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -14, Longitude 174.8 East (185.2 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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1st Manned Lunar Landing and
…
PIA03902
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
1st Manned Lunar Landing and 1st Robotic Mars Landing Commemorative Release: Viking 1 Landing Site in Chryse Planitia - Visible Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 20 July 2002) The date July 20 marks two major milestones in humanity's grand push to explore the frontier of space. On this date, in 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed the first men (Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) on another celestial body, the Moon . In 1976, seven years to the day, the robotic Viking 1 Lander made the first successful landing on the ruddy rock strewn surface of Mars . To commemorate these milestones the THEMIS Team is releasing both an IR (Infra-Red) and Visible image of the Viking 1 landing site. THEMIS is currently imaging landing sites for future robotic missions including the twin Mars Exploration Rovers set to touchdown in January 2004. All of these missions anticipate the day when, hopefully in the not too distant future, astronauts will land on the red planet. So as we reflect on our rich tradition of space exploration let us also dream and plan on a wondrous future exploring the mysterious red planet. Viking 1 landed on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse Planitia (Plains of Gold), which is a low region of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The reported landing site is 22.48° N, 49.97° W. The landing site is marked with an X in the images. This region of Mars is dominated by plains, wrinkle ridges, and impact craters. This 4 framelet image is part of a 5 band image sequence. This image primarily contains plains, wrinkle ridges and craters. Some craters have ripples on their floors, which are probably dunes while other craters have some type of deposit on their floors. These deposits are most likely aeolian in nature. In places the wrinkle ridges appear to be buried or mantled with material that may be either volcanic and or fluvial in origin. The lander's view of the surface shows an undulating rocky surface with some finer grained materials present, and distant crater rims and wrinkle ridges. |
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1st Manned Lunar Landing and
…
PIA03902
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
1st Manned Lunar Landing and 1st Robotic Mars Landing Commemorative Release: Viking 1 Landing Site in Chryse Planitia - Visible Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 20 July 2002) The date July 20 marks two major milestones in humanity's grand push to explore the frontier of space. On this date, in 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed the first men (Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) on another celestial body, the Moon . In 1976, seven years to the day, the robotic Viking 1 Lander made the first successful landing on the ruddy rock strewn surface of Mars . To commemorate these milestones the THEMIS Team is releasing both an IR (Infra-Red) and Visible image of the Viking 1 landing site. THEMIS is currently imaging landing sites for future robotic missions including the twin Mars Exploration Rovers set to touchdown in January 2004. All of these missions anticipate the day when, hopefully in the not too distant future, astronauts will land on the red planet. So as we reflect on our rich tradition of space exploration let us also dream and plan on a wondrous future exploring the mysterious red planet. Viking 1 landed on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse Planitia (Plains of Gold), which is a low region of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The reported landing site is 22.48° N, 49.97° W. The landing site is marked with an X in the images. This region of Mars is dominated by plains, wrinkle ridges, and impact craters. This 4 framelet image is part of a 5 band image sequence. This image primarily contains plains, wrinkle ridges and craters. Some craters have ripples on their floors, which are probably dunes while other craters have some type of deposit on their floors. These deposits are most likely aeolian in nature. In places the wrinkle ridges appear to be buried or mantled with material that may be either volcanic and or fluvial in origin. The lander's view of the surface shows an undulating rocky surface with some finer grained materials present, and distant crater rims and wrinkle ridges. |
|
1st Manned Lunar Landing and
…
PIA03902
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
1st Manned Lunar Landing and 1st Robotic Mars Landing Commemorative Release: Viking 1 Landing Site in Chryse Planitia - Visible Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 20 July 2002) The date July 20 marks two major milestones in humanity's grand push to explore the frontier of space. On this date, in 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed the first men (Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) on another celestial body, the Moon . In 1976, seven years to the day, the robotic Viking 1 Lander made the first successful landing on the ruddy rock strewn surface of Mars . To commemorate these milestones the THEMIS Team is releasing both an IR (Infra-Red) and Visible image of the Viking 1 landing site. THEMIS is currently imaging landing sites for future robotic missions including the twin Mars Exploration Rovers set to touchdown in January 2004. All of these missions anticipate the day when, hopefully in the not too distant future, astronauts will land on the red planet. So as we reflect on our rich tradition of space exploration let us also dream and plan on a wondrous future exploring the mysterious red planet. Viking 1 landed on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse Planitia (Plains of Gold), which is a low region of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The reported landing site is 22.48° N, 49.97° W. The landing site is marked with an X in the images. This region of Mars is dominated by plains, wrinkle ridges, and impact craters. This 4 framelet image is part of a 5 band image sequence. This image primarily contains plains, wrinkle ridges and craters. Some craters have ripples on their floors, which are probably dunes while other craters have some type of deposit on their floors. These deposits are most likely aeolian in nature. In places the wrinkle ridges appear to be buried or mantled with material that may be either volcanic and or fluvial in origin. The lander's view of the surface shows an undulating rocky surface with some finer grained materials present, and distant crater rims and wrinkle ridges. |
|
1st Manned Lunar Landing and
…
PIA03901
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
…
| Title |
1st Manned Lunar Landing and 1st Robotic Mars Landing Commemorative Release: Viking 1 Landing Site in Chryse Planitia - Infrared Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 20 July 2002) The date July 20 marks two major milestones in humanity's grand push to explore the frontier of space. On this date, in 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed the first men (Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) on another celestial body, the Moon . In 1976, seven years to the day, the robotic Viking 1 Lander made the first successful landing on the ruddy rock strewn surface of Mars . To commemorate these milestones the THEMIS Team is releasing both an IR (Infra-Red) and Visible image of the Viking 1 landing site. THEMIS is currently imaging landing sites for future robotic missions including the twin Mars Exploration Rovers set to touchdown in January 2004. All of these missions anticipate the day when, hopefully in the not too distant future, astronauts will land on the red planet. So as we reflect on our rich tradition of space exploration let us also dream and plan on a wondrous future exploring the mysterious red planet. Viking 1 landed on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse Planitia (Plains of Gold), which is a low region of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The reported landing site is 22.48° N, 49.97° W. The landing site is marked with an X in the images. This region of Mars is dominated by plains, wrinkle ridges, and impact craters. This one band IR (band 9 at 12.6 microns) image shows bright and dark textures, which are primarily due to differences in the abundance of rocks on the surface. The relatively cool (dark) regions during the day are rocky or indurated materials whereas fine sand and dust are warmer (bright). The brightness levels show daytime surface temperatures, which range from about minus 34 degrees to minus 22 degrees Celsius (minus 29 degrees to minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit). Many of the temperature variations are due to slope effects, with sun-facing slopes warmer than shaded slopes. The dark rings around several of the craters are due to the presence of rocky (cool) material ejected from the crater. These rocks are well below the resolution of any existing Mars camera, but THEMIS can detect the temperature variations they produce. Daytime temperature variations are produced by a combination of topographic (solar heating) and thermophysical (thermal inertia and albedo) effects. Due to topographic heating the surface morphologies seen in THEMIS daytime IR images are similar to those seen in previous imagery and MOLA topography. Smooth, undulating, and ridged plains dominate this scene. The major thermophysical variations seen in daytime images are associated with impact craters and the wrinkle ridges. Other than these ejecta deposits and the wrinkle ridges, there is little variation in the thermophysical properties of the surface materials. |
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1st Manned Lunar Landing and
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PIA03901
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
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| Title |
1st Manned Lunar Landing and 1st Robotic Mars Landing Commemorative Release: Viking 1 Landing Site in Chryse Planitia - Infrared Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
(Released 20 July 2002) The date July 20 marks two major milestones in humanity's grand push to explore the frontier of space. On this date, in 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed the first men (Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) on another celestial body, the Moon . In 1976, seven years to the day, the robotic Viking 1 Lander made the first successful landing on the ruddy rock strewn surface of Mars . To commemorate these milestones the THEMIS Team is releasing both an IR (Infra-Red) and Visible image of the Viking 1 landing site. THEMIS is currently imaging landing sites for future robotic missions including the twin Mars Exploration Rovers set to touchdown in January 2004. All of these missions anticipate the day when, hopefully in the not too distant future, astronauts will land on the red planet. So as we reflect on our rich tradition of space exploration let us also dream and plan on a wondrous future exploring the mysterious red planet. Viking 1 landed on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse Planitia (Plains of Gold), which is a low region of the northern hemisphere of Mars. The reported landing site is 22.48° N, 49.97° W. The landing site is marked with an X in the images. This region of Mars is dominated by plains, wrinkle ridges, and impact craters. This one band IR (band 9 at 12.6 microns) image shows bright and dark textures, which are primarily due to differences in the abundance of rocks on the surface. The relatively cool (dark) regions during the day are rocky or indurated materials whereas fine sand and dust are warmer (bright). The brightness levels show daytime surface temperatures, which range from about minus 34 degrees to minus 22 degrees Celsius (minus 29 degrees to minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit). Many of the temperature variations are due to slope effects, with sun-facing slopes warmer than shaded slopes. The dark rings around several of the craters are due to the presence of rocky (cool) material ejected from the crater. These rocks are well below the resolution of any existing Mars camera, but THEMIS can detect the temperature variations they produce. Daytime temperature variations are produced by a combination of topographic (solar heating) and thermophysical (thermal inertia and albedo) effects. Due to topographic heating the surface morphologies seen in THEMIS daytime IR images are similar to those seen in previous imagery and MOLA topography. Smooth, undulating, and ridged plains dominate this scene. The major thermophysical variations seen in daytime images are associated with impact craters and the wrinkle ridges. Other than these ejecta deposits and the wrinkle ridges, there is little variation in the thermophysical properties of the surface materials. |
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