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Dawn of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Neutral Gas Cloud Around Tit
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| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
Images from the magnetospheric imaging instrument and the ion and neutral camera onboard the Cassini spacecraft reveal aspects of the interactions between Saturn's dynamic population of hot energetic ions and the clouds of cold neutral atoms. Future observations may further explain the relationships between these interactions. The most recent image of Titan reveals the emission of high-speed neutral atoms from a globular region approximately 70,000 kilometers (43,496 miles) in diameter, clearly centered on Titan. It is only 1/25 as bright as the region seen toward dawn during Saturn orbit insertion, even though Cassini is now closer to Titan. There is an extended emission region around the Titan cloud, but it is much dimmer than the Titan cloud itself and even dimmer compared to the emission seen in the dawn direction at orbit insertion. In this image, the X marks the direction toward the Sun, the Y marks the direction toward Saturn's dawn, and the Z marks Saturn's rotation axis. The dot in the center marks Titan. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The magnetospheric imaging instrument team is based at Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/CASSINI/index.html . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/JHU/APL/Max-Plank-Institut f¿r Aeronomie/University of Maryland/University of Kansas/University of Arizona/CESR/Bell Laboratories |
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Clouds at Dawn
| Description |
Clouds at Dawn |
| Full Description |
Saturn's clouds billow and swirl in the turbulent zones of shear between eastward- and westward-flowing jets. This view looks toward the terminator on Saturn, where night gives way to day. The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 338,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 67 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
September 20, 2006 |
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Dawn for Odysseus
| Description |
Dawn for Odysseus |
| Full Description |
The eastern rim of the large crater Odysseus is visible along the terminator in this image of Saturn's moon Tethys. This enormous impact feature is the largest on Tethys, at approximately 450 kilometers (280 miles) across. The shadowy rim of another smaller crater can be seen at the bottom. Tethys is 1,060 kilometers (659 miles) across. This Cassini view shows principally the leading hemisphere of Tethys. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 18, 2004, at a distance of 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 94 degrees. The image scale is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast enhanced to aid visibility. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org *Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
January 26, 2005 |
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| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
Io Above Clouds on New Year's Day, 2001 January 23, 2001 The moon Io floats above the cloudtops of Jupiter in this image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on the dawn of the new millennium, Jan. 1, 2001, two days after Cassini's closest approach to Jupiter. The image is deceiving: There is room for two and a half Jupiters between Io and Jupiter's clouds. Io is the size of our Moon. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona For higher resolution, click here. |
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Phoebe's Radiation
| Description |
Phoebe's Radiation |
| Full Description |
This image shows thermal radiation from the day and night sides of Saturn's moon Phoebe, taken by the composite infrared spectrometer onboard Cassini 1.8 hours before the spacecraft's closest approach to Phoebe on June 11, 2004. The left-hand panel displays the image in grayscale format, showing the brightness of Phoebe's radiation in the wavelength range 15-17 microns, which is about 25 times the longest wavelength visible to the naked eye. In the middle panel this brightness is used to estimate the surface temperature distribution across Phoebe. Temperatures are given in degrees Kelvin, and vary from a relatively toasty 107 Kelvin (-267 Fahrenheit), in the late morning near the equator (white, lower right), to less than 75 Kelvin (-324 Fahrenheit) in the northern hemisphere in the pre-dawn hours (dark blue, upper left). The "ragged edge" of Phoebe in this region is an instrumental artifact. Temperatures are affected strongly by topography, as can be seen by comparison with the visible-wavelength image (right). Some of the coldest temperatures are found in the shadowed region inside the large depression in the northern hemisphere (upper right). The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer home page at http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Phoebe Temperature Maps
| Description |
Phoebe Temperature Maps |
| Full Description |
A montage of maps of Saturn's moon Phoebe shows surface temperatures at various times of day as determined by the composite infrared spectrometer onboard Cassini during the June 11, 2004, Phoebe flyby. The asterisk on each map shows the location of the subsolar point, where the Sun is directly overhead. This point moves across the surface as Phoebe rotates. It is morning in regions to the left of the subsolar point, and afternoon in regions to the right. Like a newspaper weather map, different colors indicate different temperatures, though Phoebe's temperatures are distinctly cooler than even the coldest January day on Earth. Equatorial temperatures peak in the early afternoon near 112 Kelvin (-257 Fahrenheit), plunging to 78 Kelvin (-319 Fahrenheit) before dawn, and are even colder at higher latitudes. The large day/night temperature contrasts imply that Phoebe's surface is covered in loose dust or ice particles that store little heat and thus cool off rapidly at night. Regions of Phoebe's surface that were not observed are shown in black. Most of the maps show the effect on surface temperatures of the large crater-like depression seen in Cassini's visible-wavelength images of Phoebe, which is located just left of center in these maps. Crater walls that are shadowed and cold in the early morning in the first map are sunlit and warm in the late afternoon in the final map. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer home page at http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Dawn at the Huygens Site
| Description |
Titan's equatorial latitudes are distinctly different in character from its south polar region, as this image shows. |
| Full Description |
Titan's equatorial latitudes are distinctly different in character from its south polar region, as this image shows. The dark terrain, presumably lowland, seen here does not extend much farther south than about 30 degrees South. The successful Huygens probe landed in such a region. The Huygens probe is rotating into the light here, seeing the dawn of a new day. The bright region toward the right side of Titan's disk is Xanadu. This area is thought to consist of upland terrain that is relatively uncontaminated by the dark material that fills the lowland regions. Near the moon's south pole, and just eastward of the terminator, is the dark feature identified by imaging scientists as the best candidate (so far) for a past or present hydrocarbon lake on Titan (see Clouds in the Distance). Farther east of the lake-like feature, bright clouds arc around the pole. These clouds occupy a latitude range that is consistent with previously-seen convective cloud activity on Titan. Titan is Saturn's largest moon, at 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) across. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 7, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 60 degrees. The image was obtained using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image scale is 7 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
August 16, 2005 |
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Dawn
| title |
Dawn |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Dawn spacecraft in the main asteroid belt. |
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The Earth-Moon System
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The Earth-Moon System |
| date |
12.16.1992 |
| description |
Eight days after its final encounter with the Earth, the Galileo spacecraft looked back and captured this remarkable view of the Earth and Moon. The image was taken from a distance of about 6.2 million kilometers (3.9 million miles). The picture was constructed from images taken through the violet, red, and 1.0-micron infrared filters. The Moon is in the foreground, moving from left to right. The brightly-colored Earth contrasts strongly with the Moon, which reflects only about one-third as much sunlight as the Earth. Contrast and color have been computer-enhanced for both objects to improve visibility. Antarctica is visible through clouds (bottom). The Moon's far side is seen, the shadowy indentation in the dawn terminator is the south pole Aitken Basin, one of the largest and oldest lunar impact features. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Dr. Charles Elachi Congratul
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Dr. Charles Elachi Congratulates the MRO Team |
| Description |
JPL Director, Dr. Charles Elachi smiles for the camera as he makes the rounds in the Mission Support Area (MSA) at Jet Propulsion Laboratory during MRO's successful launch at dawn Pacific Time on August 12, 2005. Credit: NASA/JPL |
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| Description |
Browse Image (annotated) | Large annotated (132 kB) Browse Image | Large (180 kB) |
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South Melea Planum, By The D
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PIA02021
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Melea Planum, By The Dawn's Early Light |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MOC "sees" by the dawn's early light! This picture was taken over the high southern polar latitudes during the first week of May 1999. The area shown is currently in southern winter darkness. Because sunlight is scattered over the horizon by aerosols--dust and ice particles--suspended in the atmosphere, sufficient light reaches regions within a few degrees of the terminator (the line dividing night and day) to be visible to the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when the maximum exposure settings are used. This image shows a bright, wispy cloud hanging over southern Malea Planum. This cloud would not normally be visible, since it is currently in darkness. At the time this picture was taken, the sun was more than 5.7° below the northern horizon. The scene covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide. Again, the illumination is from the top. In this frame, the surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. The highly reflective frost, in fact, may have contributed to the increased visibility of this surface. This "twilight imaging" technique for viewing Mars can only work near the terminator, thus in early May only regions between about 67°S and 74°S were visible in twilight images in the southern hemisphere, and a similar narrow latitude range could be imaged in the northern hemisphere. MOC cannot "see" in the total darkness of full-borne night. Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. |
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South Melea Planum, By The D
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PIA02020
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Melea Planum, By The Dawn's Early Light |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MOC "sees" by the dawn's early light! This picture was taken over the high southern polar latitudes during the first week of May 1999. The area shown is currently in southern winter darkness. Because sunlight is scattered over the horizon by aerosols--dust and ice particles--suspended in the atmosphere, sufficient light reaches regions within a few degrees of the terminator (the line dividing night and day) to be visible to the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when the maximum exposure settings are used. This picture shows a polygonally-patterned surface on southern Malea Planum. At the time the picture was taken, the sun was more than 4.5° below the northern horizon. The scene covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) wide, with the illumination from the top of the picture. In this frame, the surface appears a relatively uniform gray. At the time the picture was acquired, the surface was covered with south polar wintertime frost. The highly reflective frost, in fact, may have contributed to the increased visibility of this surface. This "twilight imaging" technique for viewing Mars can only work near the terminator, thus in early May only regions between about 67°S and 74°S were visible in twilight images in the southern hemisphere, and a similar narrow latitude range could be imaged in the northern hemisphere. MOC cannot "see" in the total darkness of full-borne night. Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. |
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Clouds at Dawn
PIA08263
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
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| Title |
Clouds at Dawn |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Saturn's clouds billow and swirl in the turbulent zones of shear between eastward- and westward-flowing jets. This view looks toward the terminator on Saturn, where night gives way to day. The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 338,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 67 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ]. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ]. |
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Temperature Behavior of Poss
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PIA09930
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
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| Title |
Temperature Behavior of Possible Cave Skylight on Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 Each of the three images in this set covers the same patch of Martian ground, centered on a possible cave skylight informally called "Annie," which has a diameter about double the length of a football field. The Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter took all three, gathering information that the hole is cooler than surrounding surface in the afternoon and warmer than the surrounding surface at night. This is thermal behavior that would be expected from an opening into an underground space. The left image was taken in visible-wavelength light (figure 1). The other two were taken in thermal infrared wavelengths, indicating the relative temperatures of features in the image. The center image is from mid-afternoon. The hole is warmer than the shadows of nearby pits to the north and south, while cooler than sunlit surfaces. The thermal image at right was taken in the pre-dawn morning, about 4 a.m. local time. At that hour, the hole is warmer than all nearby surfaces. Annie and six other features with similar thermal behavior are on the northern slope of a high Martian volcano named Arsia Mons, which is at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude. Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Santa Barbara, Calif., and is operated by Arizona State University. |
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Temperature Behavior of Poss
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PIA09930
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
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| Title |
Temperature Behavior of Possible Cave Skylight on Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 Each of the three images in this set covers the same patch of Martian ground, centered on a possible cave skylight informally called "Annie," which has a diameter about double the length of a football field. The Thermal Emission Imaging System camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter took all three, gathering information that the hole is cooler than surrounding surface in the afternoon and warmer than the surrounding surface at night. This is thermal behavior that would be expected from an opening into an underground space. The left image was taken in visible-wavelength light (figure 1). The other two were taken in thermal infrared wavelengths, indicating the relative temperatures of features in the image. The center image is from mid-afternoon. The hole is warmer than the shadows of nearby pits to the north and south, while cooler than sunlit surfaces. The thermal image at right was taken in the pre-dawn morning, about 4 a.m. local time. At that hour, the hole is warmer than all nearby surfaces. Annie and six other features with similar thermal behavior are on the northern slope of a high Martian volcano named Arsia Mons, which is at 9 degrees south latitude, 239 degrees east longitude. Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, Santa Barbara, Calif., and is operated by Arizona State University. |
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Pre-Dawn Martian Sky
PIA00918
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
| Title |
Pre-Dawn Martian Sky |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
On Sol 39 there were wispy blue clouds in the pre-dawn sky of Mars, as seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The color image was made by taking blue, green, and red images and then combining them into a single color image. The clouds appear to have a bluish side and a greenish side because they moved (in the wind from the northeast) between images. This picture was made an hour and twenty minutes before sunrise -- the sun is not shining directly on the water ice clouds, but they are illuminated by the dawn twilight. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. |
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Pre-Dawn Clouds Over Mars
PIA00919
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
| Title |
Pre-Dawn Clouds Over Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These are more wispy blue clouds from Sol 39 as seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. The bright clouds near the bottom are about 30 degrees above the horizon. The clouds are believed to be at an altitude of 10 to 15 km, and are thought to be made of small water ice particles. The picture was taken about 35 minutes before sunrise. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. |
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Dawn at the Huygens Site
PIA07565
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
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| Title |
Dawn at the Huygens Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Titan's equatorial latitudes are distinctly different in character from its south polar region, as this image shows. The dark terrain, presumably lowland, seen here does not extend much farther south than about 30 degrees South. The successful Huygens probe landed in such a region. The Huygens probe is rotating into the light here, seeing the dawn of a new day. The bright region toward the right side of Titan's disk is Xanadu. This area is thought to consist of upland terrain that is relatively uncontaminated by the dark material that fills the lowland regions. Near the moon's south pole, and just eastward of the terminator, is the dark feature identified by imaging scientists as the best candidate (so far) for a past or present hydrocarbon lake on Titan (see PIA06241 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06241 ]). Farther east of the lake-like feature, bright clouds arc around the pole. These clouds occupy a latitude range that is consistent with previously-seen convective cloud activity on Titan. Titan is Saturn's largest moon, at 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) across. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 7, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 60 degrees. The image was obtained using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image scale is 7 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ]. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ]. |
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Galileo Optical Experiment (
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PIA00230
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Galileo Optical Experiment (GOPEX) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two sets of laser pulses transmitted from Earth to a spacecraft over a distance of 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) in a communications experiment are shown in this long-exposure image made by the Galileo spacecraft's imaging system. In the image, taken on Dec. 10, second day of the 8-day experiment, the sunlit part of the planet (west central United States) is to the right, the night side to the left. The camera was scanned from bottom to top of the frame (approximately south to north), smearing terrain features but showing individual pulses. The five larger spots in a vertical column near the pre-dawn centerline of the frame represent pulses from the U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory's Starfire Optical Range near Albuquerque, NM, at a pulse rate of 10 Hz. Those to the left are from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, CA, at a rate of 15 Hz. Spots near the day/night terminator to the right are noise events not associated with the laser transmissions. The experiment, called GOPEX (Galileo Optical Experiment), is demonstrating a laser "uplink" from Earth to spacecraft. Laser "downlinks" may be used in the future to send large volumes of data from spacecraft to Earth. The experiment is operated by JPL's Tracking and Data Acquisition Technology Development Office for NASA's Office of Space Communications Advanced Systems Proqram. |
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Earth - Departing Image by G
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PIA00232
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Earth - Departing Image by Galileo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This color image of the Earth was taken by the Galileo spacecraft on December 11 as it departed on its 3-year flight to Jupiter, about 2 1/2 days after the second Earth flyby. The distance to Earth is about 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles). Antarctica is visible at the bottom of the image, and dawn is rising over the Pacific Ocean. The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the exploration of the Jupiter system in 1995-97, is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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MGS MOC Coverage of Mars Pol
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PIA02310
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MGS MOC Coverage of Mars Polar Lander Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
. The selection criteria were to find a place that was relatively flat and relatively smooth, but which displayed characteristics of the south polar layered materials. The inset (upper left) shows the location of the landing zone with respect to the south polar residual (year-round) ice cap. The base map used here is a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images from the U.S. Geological Survey. Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO., High-resolution views of the Mars Polar Lander [ http://www.marspolarlander.com/ ] landing zone were essential to the selection of a safe place for the December 3, 1999, landing to occur. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took its first pictures of the landing zone in December 1997 [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/3_9_98_release/7200/index.html ] and January 1998 [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/3_9_98_release/9500/index.html ]. After that time, the south polar region was not accessible to the camera until June 1999, when the south polar winter was ending and the sun began to dawn on this region once again. Since the beginning of June 1999, an intense period of imaging has been conducted over the landing zone so that a safe site could be found. The final site has now been identified, and the pictures shown here give some idea of what the Mars Polar Lander will encounter a little more than three months from now. This figure shows the zone originally proposed by the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) [ http://mvacs.ess.ucla.edu/ ] science team for the Mars Polar Lander mission, which spanned the region from 72° to 78°S latitude and 170° to 230°W longitude. The thin white boxes and lines crossing the proposed zone outline MOC images taken between the first week in June 1999 and the first week in August 1999. The longest images were taken at 12 by 18 meters (39 by 59 feet) per pixel, there are three sets of long images, each taken during a given week in June as the terminator (the line separating "night" from "day") moved south across the landing zone. Smaller swaths represent images at higher resolution. The best resolution so far achieved is about 4 meters (13 ft) per pixel, better images will be taken in September and October as the sun rises farther and the surface becomes better illuminated. This figure shows the location of the primary (blue) and secondary (white) landing ellipses, which were selected on the basis of interpretation of the MGS data, in particular data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/98lander.html ] and the Mars Orbiter Camera [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/index.html ] |
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Impact Crater
PIA04049
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
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| Title |
Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the dawn of the Space Age (October 4, 1957). On this date the former Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1. Sputnik means fellow traveler. For comparison Sputnik 1 weighed only 83.6 kg (184 pounds) while Mars Odyssey weighs in at 758 kg (1,671 pounds). This scene shows several interesting geologic features associated with impact craters on Mars. The continuous lobes of material that make up the ejecta blanket of the large impact crater are evidence that the crater ejecta were fluidized upon impact of the meteor that formed the crater. Volatiles within the surface mixed with the ejecta upon impact thus creating the fluidized form. Several smaller impact craters are also observed within the ejecta blanket of the larger impact crater giving a relative timing of events. Layering of geologic units is also observed within the large impact crater walls and floor and may represent different compositional units that erode at variable rates. Cliff faces, dissected gullies, and heavily eroded impact craters are observed in the bottom half of the image at the terminus of a flat-topped plateau. 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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Impact Crater
PIA04049
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys
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| Title |
Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the dawn of the Space Age (October 4, 1957). On this date the former Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1. Sputnik means fellow traveler. For comparison Sputnik 1 weighed only 83.6 kg (184 pounds) while Mars Odyssey weighs in at 758 kg (1,671 pounds). This scene shows several interesting geologic features associated with impact craters on Mars. The continuous lobes of material that make up the ejecta blanket of the large impact crater are evidence that the crater ejecta were fluidized upon impact of the meteor that formed the crater. Volatiles within the surface mixed with the ejecta upon impact thus creating the fluidized form. Several smaller impact craters are also observed within the ejecta blanket of the larger impact crater giving a relative timing of events. Layering of geologic units is also observed within the large impact crater walls and floor and may represent different compositional units that erode at variable rates. Cliff faces, dissected gullies, and heavily eroded impact craters are observed in the bottom half of the image at the terminus of a flat-topped plateau. 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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Galileo view of Moon orbitin
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| Title |
Galileo view of Moon orbiting the Earth taken from 3.9 million miles |
| Description |
Eight days after its encounter with the Earth, the Galileo spacecraft was able to look back and capture this remarkable view of the Moon in orbit about the Earth, taken from a distance of about 6.2 million kilometers (3.9 million miles). The picture was constructed from images taken through the violet, red, and 1.0-micron infrared filters. The Moon is in the foreground, moving from left to right. The brightly-colored Earth contrasts strongly with the Moon, which reflects only about one-third as much sunlight as the Earth. Contrast and color have been computer-enhanced for both objects to improve visibility. Antarctica is visible through clouds (bottom). The Moon's far side is seen, the shadowy indentation in the dawn terminator is the south-Pole/Aitken Basin, one of the largest and oldest lunar impact features. Alternate Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) number is P-41508. |
| Date Taken |
1992-12-30 |
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