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Mars on Earth II
In this second installment o …
6/15/04
NASA Connect - Personal Sate …
NASA Connect Video containin …
1/22/04
Description NASA Connect Video containing six segments as described below. NASA Connect Segment exploring the aspects of microgravity and how it affects objects in space. Explores object motion and friction and tests the PSA prototype in accordance with these forces. NASA Connect Segment exploring more aspects of the Personal Satellite Assistant. It explains motion and its relationship with the mass of objects in connection to the PSA. NASA Connect Segment explaining mechanical systems. It also compares and contrasts a mechanical system to the system of the International Space Station and Personal Satellite Assistants. NASA Connect Segment explaining the literary origins of robots. It also explores the development of the robot and how scientists use robots in research and technology. NASA Connect Segment exploring the different types of robots. It also explores robots such as the Mars Rover that scientists at NASA use to explore beyond the Earth. NASA Connect Segment involving students in an activity that investigates volume and surface area in two different cylinders. The video also explains basic mathematical functions to help answer the questions.
Date 1/22/04
NASA Connect - PSA - Rover a …
NASA Connect Segment explori …
1/22/04
Description NASA Connect Segment exploring the different types of robots. It also explores robots such as the Mars Rover that scientists at NASA use to explore beyond the Earth.
Date 1/22/04
Scrutinizing Titan's Surface
Description Scrutinizing Titan's Surface
Full Description The six close-up views of Titan's surface shown here are composed of images acquired by the Cassini spacecraft during flybys in October (see Titan Mosaic: October 2004) and December (see Titan Mosaic: December 2004) of 2004. These close-up views illustrate that a variety of processes have shaped the surface of Titan, just as diverse geologic processes are responsible for what we see on Earth's surface. Image (a) shows a prominent bright-dark boundary near the western edge of the Xanadu region which exhibits a sharp, angular edge between the materials. Three bright, discontinuous circles can be seen (two near the top of the image and another near the lower left). These may be large impact craters, the upper two are approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) in diameter and the lower one is approximately 50 kilometers (20 miles) in diameter. Titan's thick atmosphere will screen out small projectiles, but if the surface were as old as Titan itself, it should have many more craters of these sizes. Therefore, Cassini scientists think that, like Earth's surface, Titan's surface has been modified more recently by other geologic processes. However, such processes on Titan may take much longer than on Earth, acting over hundreds of millions of years. Image (b) shows bright features that appear to be streamlined as if were they formed by winds in Titan's atmosphere moving from west to east. The landing site of the Huygens probe is in the upper left corner of this image (see Cassini's View of Titan Landing Site). Image (c) shows a bright feature surrounded by dark material. Several long, dark and narrow lines running through the bright area may be larger examples of the dark channels seen by the Huygens probe (see Mosaic of River Channel and Ridge Area on Titan). These lines are on the order of 2 kilometers (1 mile) wide, and tens of kilometers long. Image (d) shows dark material within the bright area to the west of Xanadu. The linear nature of these features suggests that they may have formed by faulting. They may be dark due to modification by other surface processes occurring on Titan, in the same way that on Earth, fault-lines can be enhanced by erosion and/or deposition of material by water and wind. Image (e) shows brightness variations in the region southeast of the Huygens landing site. The features indicated by arrows exhibit shapes that are similar to drainage patterns seen on Earth and Mars, where the source of the liquid is underground springs rather than rainfall. Image (f) shows a region near the northwestern edge of Xanadu where the boundary between the bright and dark materials is quite complicated. Here some of the bright patches appear as if they represent thin surface plates that have been broken apart and spread apart over underlying dark material. The white bars above each image are 200 kilometers (124 miles) long. Imaging Titan through its thick atmosphere is a challenge, and the narrow, straight lines within the images, are seams between individual images that have not been completely removed. North is to the top of each frame. 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 additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Date March 9, 2005
Leaving Earth
title Leaving Earth
date 06.10.2003
description This spectacular shot of solid rocket motors separating from a Delta II rocket over Florida was captured during the June 10 liftoff of the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit. The rover and its twin, Opportunity, will arrive at Mars in January 2004.
Martian Meteorite
title Martian Meteorite
description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel according to readings from spectrometers on the rover. Only a small fraction of the meteorites fallen on Earth are similarly metal-rich. Others are rockier. As an example, the meteorite that blasted the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona is similar in composition. "This is a huge surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have been," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. The meteorite, dubbed "Heat Shield Rock," sits near debris of Opportunity's heat shield on the surface of Meridiani Planum, a cratered flatland that has been Opportunity's home since the robot landed on Mars nearly one year ago. "I never thought we would get to use our instruments on a rock from someplace other than Mars," Squyres said. "Think about where an iron meteorite comes from: a destroyed planet or planetesimal that was big enough to differentiate into a metallic core and a rocky mantle." Rover-team scientists are wondering whether some rocks that Opportunity has seen atop the ground surface are rocky meteorites. "Mars should be hit by a lot more rocky meteorites than iron meteorites," Squyres said. "We've been seeing lots of cobbles out on the plains, and this raises the possibility that some of them may in fact be meteorites. We may be investigating some of those in coming weeks. The key is not what we'll learn about meteorites -- we have lots of meteorites on Earth -- but what the meteorites can tell us about Meridiani Planum." The numbers of exposed meteorites could be an indication of whether the plain is gradually eroding away or being built up. NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Garvin said, "Exploring meteorites is a vital part of NASA's scientific agenda, and discovering whether there are storehouses of them on Mars opens new research possibilities, including further incentives for robotic and then human-based sample-return missions. Mars continues to provide unexpected science 'gold,' and our rovers have proven the value of mobile exploration with this latest finding." Initial observation of Heat Shield Rock from a distance with Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer suggested a metallic composition and raised speculation last week that it was a meteorite. The rover drove close enough to use its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, confirming the meteorite identification over the weekend. Opportunity and Spirit successfully completed their primary three-month missions on Mars in April 2004. NASA has extended their missions twice because the rovers have remained in good condition to continue exploring Mars longer than anticipated. They have found geological evidence of past wet environmental conditions that might have, been hospitable to life. Opportunity has driven a total of 2.10 kilometers (1.30 miles). Minor mottling from dust has appeared in images from the rover's rear hazard-identification camera since Opportunity entered the area of its heat-shield debris, said Jim Erickson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., rover project manager. The rover team plans to begin driving Opportunity south toward a circular feature called "Vostok" within about a week. Spirit has driven a total of 4.05 kilometers (2.52 miles). It has been making slow progress uphill toward a ridge on "Husband Hill" inside Gusev Crater. *Image Credit*: NASA
Earth From Mars
title Earth From Mars
date 03.08.2004
description This is the first image ever taken of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond the Moon. It was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. The image is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's navigation camera showing a broad view of the sky, and an image taken by the rover's panoramic camera of Earth. The contrast in the panoramic camera image was increased two times to make Earth easier to see.The inset shows a combination of four panoramic camera images zoomed in on Earth. The arrow points to Earth. Earth was too faint to be detected in images taken with the panoramic camera's color filters. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Texas A&M
Columbia Memorial
title Columbia Memorial
date 01.06.2004
description The landing site of the Mars Spirit rover in honor of the astronauts who died in the tragic accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February. The area in the vast flatland of the Gusev Crater where Spirit landed this weekend will be called the Columbia Memorial Station. Since its historic landing, Spirit has been sending extraordinary images of its new surroundings on the red planet over the past few days. Among them, an image of a memorial plaque placed on the spacecraft to Columbia's astronauts and the STS-107 mission. The plaque is mounted on the back of Spirit's high-gain antenna, a disc-shaped tool used for communicating directly with Earth. The plaque is aluminum and approximately six inches in diameter. The memorial plaque was attached March 28, 2003, at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Chris Voorhees and Peter Illsley, Mars Exploration Rover engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed the plaque. *Image Credit*: NASA
An Asteroid's Sky Trek
title An Asteroid's Sky Trek
description While analyzing NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy (SagDIG), an international team of astronomers led by Simone Marchi, Yazan Momany, and Luigi Bedin were surprised to see the trail of a faint asteroid that had drifted across the field of view during the exposures. The trail is seen as a series of 13 reddish arcs on the right in this August 2003 Advanced Camera for Surveys image. As the Hubble telescope orbits around the Earth, and the Earth moves around the Sun, a nearby asteroid in our solar system will appear to move with respect to the vastly more distant background stars, due to an effect called parallax. It is somewhat similar to the effect you see from a moving car, in which trees by the side of the road appear to be moving much more rapidly than background objects at much larger distances. If the Hubble exposure were a continuous one, the asteroid trail would appear like a continuous wavy line. However, the exposure with Hubble's camera was actually broken up into more than a dozen separate exposures. After each exposure, the camera's shutter was closed while the image was transferred from the electronic detector into the camera's computer memory, this accounts for the many interruptions in the asteroid's trail. Since the trajectory of the Hubble spacecraft around the Earth is known very accurately, it is possible to triangulate the distance to the asteroid in a manner similar to that used by terrestrial surveyors. It turns out to be a previously unknown asteroid, located 169 million miles from Earth at the time of observation. The distance places the new object, most likely, in the main asteroid belt, lying between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Based on the observed brightness of the asteroid, the astronomers estimate that it has a diameter of about 1.5 miles. The brightest stars in the picture (easily distinguished by the spikes radiating from their images, produced by optical effects within the telescope), are foreground stars lying within our own Milky Way galaxy. Their distances from Earth are typically a few thousand light-years. The faint, bluish SagDIG stars lie at about 3.5 million light-years (1.1 Megaparsecs) from us. Lastly, background galaxies (reddish/brown extended objects with spiral arms and halos) are located even further beyond SagDIG at several tens of millions parsecs away. There is thus a vast range of distances among the objects visible in this photo, ranging from about 169 million miles for the asteroid, up to many quadrillions of miles for the faint, small galaxies. The team reported their science findings about the asteroid in the October 2004 issue of New Astronomy. *Image Credit*: NASA, ESA, and Y. Momany (University of Padua)
Hubble Captures Best View of …
Title Hubble Captures Best View of Mars Ever Obtained From Earth
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]
Mars: Closest Encounter
Title Mars: Closest Encounter
Hubble Images of Asteroids H …
Title Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min …
Title Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice
Martian Moon Eclipses Sun, i …
Title Martian Moon Eclipses Sun, in Stages
Description This panel illustrates the transit of the martian moon Phobos across the Sun. It is made up of images taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the morning of the 45th martian day, or sol, of its mission. This observation will help refine our knowledge of the orbit and position of Phobos. Other spacecraft may be able to take better images of Phobos using this new information. This event is similar to solar eclipses seen on Earth in which our Moon passes in front of the Sun. The images were taken by the rover's panoramic camera.
Date 03.13.2004
NASA Selects Mars Exploratio …
Title NASA Selects Mars Exploration Program Rover for 2003 Mission
Description In 2003, NASA plans to launch a relative of the now-famous 1997 Mars Pathfinder rover. Using drop, bounce and roll technology, this larger cousin is expected to reach the surface of the red planet in January 2004 and begin the longest journey of scientific exploration ever undertaken across the surface of that alien world. The rover will weigh about nearly 150 kilograms (about 300 pounds) and has a range of up to about 100 meters (110 yards) per sol, or Martian day. Surface operations will last for at least 90 sols, extending to late April 2004, but could continue longer, depending on the health of the rover. One aspect of the Mars rover's mission is to determine history of climate and water at a site or sites on Mars where conditions may once have been warmer and wetter and thus potentially favorable to life as we know it here on Earth. The exact landing site has not yet been chosen, but is likely to be a location such as a former lakebed or channel deposit -- a place where scientists believe there was once water. A site will be selected on the basis of intensive study of orbital data collected by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, as well as the Mars 2001 orbiter and other missions.
Date 07.27.2000
Hubble Captures Best View of …
title Hubble Captures Best View of Mars Ever Obtained From Earth
Description Frosty white water ice clouds and swirling orange dust storms above a vivid rusty landscape reveal Mars as a dynamic planet in this sharpest view ever obtained by an Earth-based telescope. NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope took the picture on June 26, when Mars was approximately 43 million miles (68 million km) from Earth -- the closest Mars has ever been to Earth since 1988. Hubble can see details as small as 10 miles (16 km) across. The colors have been carefully balanced to give a realistic view of Mars' hues as they might appear through a telescope. Especially striking is the large amount of seasonal dust storm activity seen in this image. One large storm system is churning high above the northern polar cap [top of image], and a smaller dust storm cloud can be seen nearby. Another large dust storm is spilling out of the giant Hellas impact basin in the Southern Hemisphere [lower right]. Hubble has observed Mars before, but never in such detail. The biennial close approaches of Mars and Earth are not all the same. Mars' orbit around the Sun is markedly elliptical, the close approaches to Earth can range from 35 million to 63 million miles. Astronomers are interested in studying the changeable surface and weather conditions on Mars, in part, to help plan for a pair of NASA missions to land rovers on the planet's surface in 2004. The Mars opposition of 2001 serves as a prelude for 2003 when Mars and Earth will come within 35 million miles of each other, the closest since 1924 and not to be matched until 2287. Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Rolling Stones Make New Boul …
title Rolling Stones Make New Boulder Tracks
Description When a boulder rolls down a dusty slope, it can leave behind a trail of depressions. Usually known as boulder tracks, these features have been documented and studied on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Geologists studying the Moon and Mars can use these tracks to learn about the physical properties of the fine-grained debris encountered by the boulder as it rolled down the slope. Because of the high-resolution capability (0.5 to 12 meters, 1.6 to 39 feet, per pixel) of the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, dozens of boulder track sites have been identified on the red planet. A Mars Orbiter Camera image of one set of boulder tracks in a south mid-latitude crater (located near 35.8 degrees south latitude, 158.4 degrees west longitude) was obtained on Nov. 14, 2003, (left). A second image of the same site, from Dec. 4, 2004, (right) shows that more than a dozen new boulder tracks formed on the crater wall during the intervening time. Mars is an active planet, with geologic changes occurring -- at some scale -- every day. In this case, some time between mid November 2003 and early December 2004, a suite of boulders became dislodged from the crater wall, then rolled and perhaps bounced their way to the crater floor. Wider context for the site can be seen in a mosaic of Mars Orbiter Camera wide-angle images acquired in May 1999 (insert MOC2-1213a). The white box indicates the location of the later, higher-resolution views. Why the new boulders slid down the slope is unknown. This is the product of a mass movement (landsliding) process. That is, gravity is the main culprit. Whether the boulder motion was triggered by something -- a seismic event ("Marsquake") or strong winds -- is not known. Also unknown is whether all of the new boulder tracks formed at the same time, in response to a single event, or rolled downhill one at a time over the nearly 13-month period. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS
2001 Mars Odyssey Turns 5
title 2001 Mars Odyssey Turns 5
Description Five years after leaving Florida for Mars, NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is still orbiting the red planet, collecting scientific data and relaying communications from NASA's two Mars rovers to Earth. Images such as this spectacular, color view of sun-bathed, layered escarpments and wind-scalloped, basalt dunes in the solar system's largest canyon continue to beckon space explorers and guide the way for future missions. Basaltic dunes are common on Mars but rare on Earth. Rounded knobs and mesas on the canyon floor are reminiscent of desert geology in the southwestern U.S. A team led by Phil Christensen, principal investigator for Odyssey's cameras at Arizona State University, Jim Bell at Cornell University, and space artist Don Davis created this panorama. They added color to radiance files from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a camera on Odyssey that takes images in both the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. They correlated the radiance - intensity of reflected sunlight - with that of other color images from Mars and mimimized the effects of residual scattered light in the images. In addition to producing images such as this, Mars Odyssey has made global observations of Martian climate, geology, and mineralogy. The spacecraft's Gamma Ray Spectrometer has allowed scientists to make maps of the elemental distribution of hydrogen, silicon, iron, potassium, thorium, and chlorine on the Martian surface. A global map of minerals associated with water, essential to life as we know it, guided NASA in its selection of Meridiani Planum, the landing site for NASA's Opportunity rover, an area rich in hematite. Odyssey is currently supporting landing site selection for the Phoenix Scout Mission, to be launched in 2007, using data showing that surface areas near the poles of Mars consist of more than 50 percent water ice by volume. Other Odyssey accomplishments include measurement of radiation, a prerequisite for future human exploration because of its potential health effects, and a groundbreaking program in education outreach that has allowed students to take pictures of Mars and conduct scientific investigations with cameras on Odyssey. Mars Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and reached Mars on October 24, 2001. Odyssey employed a technique called "aerobraking" that used the atmosphere of Mars to slow down and gradually bring the spacecraft closer to Mars with each orbit. Odyssey's science mapping mission began in February 2002. The primary science mission continued through August 2004. Odyssey is currently in its extended mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Cornell/Don Davis
Martian Landscape, Antarctic …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Of all the diverse landscape …
donjuan_ikonos
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004
creator NASA -- Image by the NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio, based on data copyright www.spaceimaging.com/ Space Imaging.
identifier donjuan_ikonos
Ongoing Eruption of Mount Be …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
IKONOS captured this spectac …
Belinda_4m_IKO_2004275
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-10-01
creator NASA -- Image copyright www.spaceimaging.com/ Space Imaging , caption by Dr. Jim Garvin, NASA Chief Scientist for Mars and the Moon
identifier Belinda_4m_IKO_2004275
Seasonal Trend in Water Vapo …
PIA07102
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Spectromete …
Title Seasonal Trend in Water Vapor Seen from Orbit
Original Caption Released with Image The seasonal trend in the amount of water vapor in Mars' atmosphere, as observed by thermal emission spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, varies by latitude. This plot starts near the beginning of fall in the southern hemisphere for the year before the Mars Exploration Rover mission began and ends on August 30, 2004, slightly more than one martian year later. Purple represents no water while red represents about 50 precipitable micrometers, which is about 10,000 times less than on Earth. The units of time along the horizontal axis are given in longitude of the Sun (Ls) as measured in a Mars-centered coordinate system, a way to reflect the elliptical nature of Mars' orbit. On this scale, Mars is farthest from the Sun at about 74, which also corresponds to late fall in the southern hemisphere. During the period when Mars is farthest from the Sun, the migration of water vapor from the northern polar region combines with lowered atmospheric temperatures to produce conditions that allow formation of clouds such as seen in the image at PIA07105 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07105 ]. Opportunity is further north than Spirit is, so there is a distinct difference in the amount of water vapor available to form water-ice clouds over the two sites. To date, Spirit has not seen any discrete, cirrus-like clouds such as Opportunity has photographed. Although water vapor is expected to reach a maximum abundance for the Opportunity and Spirit sites near spring equinox (Ls 180 or about March 2005), the atmospheric temperatures will very likely have warmed sufficiently to prevent formation of the type of clouds that Opportunity has observed recently.
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P …
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image 24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left
Sand-Strewn Summit of "Husba …
PIA04299
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Sand-Strewn Summit of "Husband Hill" on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image Undulating bands of dark and light sand, sloping dunes, and scattered cobbles form an apron around a ridge of light-colored rock that stands in bold relief against distant plains, as viewed by NASA's "Spirit" rover from the top of "Husband Hill" on Mars. "The view of the summit is spectacular where we are right now," said geologist Larry Crumpler, with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque. From here, Spirit is looking north-northeast en route to examining more of the local geology of the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater. A few days after taking this picture, Spirit investigated the small, sinuous drifts on the left, located north-northeast of the rover's position in this image. The last previous time Spirit examined a drift was on the rim of "Bonneville Crater" almost 500 martian days, or sols, ago, in March 2004. The largest light-colored rock in the foreground is nicknamed "Whittaker." The cliff beyond it and slightly to the left is nicknamed "Tenzing." The highest rock on the ridge ahead has been dubbed "Hillary." Science team members selected the nicknames in honor of the earliest climbers to scale Mount Everest on Earth. This view covers approximately 50 degrees of the compass from left to right. It is a mosaic assembled from frames Spirit took with the panoramic camera on sol 603 (Sept. 13, 2005). It was taken through a blue (430-nanometer) filter and is presented as a cylindrical projection.
Hematite Deposits at Opportu …
PIA05153
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Hematite Deposits at Opportunity Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image This vertical cross-section of the Meridiani Planum region shows that the hematite-bearing plains are part of an extensive set of deposits on top of the ancient, heavily cratered terrain. The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is targeted to land here on January 24, 2004 Pacific Standard Time. The background surface image of Meridiani Planum was acquired by the Mars Orbital Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. On Earth, grey hematite is an iron oxide mineral that typically forms in the presence of liquid water. The rover Opportunity will study the martian terrain and examine the hematite deposits to determine whether liquid water was present in the past when rocks were being formed.
Mars Exploration Rover (MER- …
PIA05120
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) Spirit Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image January 2004 Excitement builds as the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, prepares to land on Mars just after 8:35 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 3 January 2004 (04:35, 4 January 2004 UTC). Today's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture is a mosaic of MOC images of the Spirit landing site. The rover is expected to land somewhere within the approximately 83 km (~52 mi) long by ~10 km (~6 mi) wide ellipse on the floor of Gusev Crater [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05119 ]. Clicking on the image above will show a map of the landing site at 25 meters (82 feet) per pixel. MOC has acquired 71 pictures of the landing site over a period spanning 3 Mars years (from July 1999 through December 2003), and more than 85 pictures were acquired within Gusev Crater specifically to support the Mars Exploration Rover landing site selection process. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral, dark dust devil streaks and wind streaks are different from image to image within the mosaic. In areas where no MOC coverage exists, gaps were filled using images from the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible imager, a lower-resolution camera built by Malin Space Science Systems and operated by Arizona State University. The Gusev Crater landing ellipse is centered near 14.8°S, 184.8°W. Sunlight illuminates each image in the mosaic from the left (in some cases, upper left, in others, lower left). Spirit will land at about 2 p.m. local time on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Spirit's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Spirit after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ].
Mars Exploration Rover (MER- …
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking
Mars Exploration Rover (MER- …
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking
Mars Exploration Rover (MER- …
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking
Mars Exploration Rover (MER- …
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site
Original Caption Released with Image 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking
Opportunity Slices into the …
PIA05445
Sol (our sun)
Microscopic Imager, Rock Abr …
Title Opportunity Slices into the Surface of Mars
Original Caption Released with Image The semi-circular depression on the right side of this microscopic image resulted from Opportunity's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool sliced into the surface about 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) deep and ground off a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on a rock called "McKittrick" during Opportunity's 30th sol on Mars, Feb. 23, 2004. The hole exposed fresh interior material of the rock for close inspection by the rover's microscopic imager and two spectrometers on the robotic arm. Scientists and engineers got a nice bonus in that two spherical features nicknamed "blueberries" were unexpectedly cut in half within this rock. Team members had noticed the blueberries in earlier pictures on other rocks in the outcrop and had wanted to attempt to cut one in half sometime during the future of the mission. As luck would have it, two blueberries were hidden in the depths of "McKittrick." The one blueberry shown in the bottom right of this picture appears to have been scratched by the grinding wheel, which is further explained in PIA05446 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05446 ]. The two rectangular boxes in the lower left and upper middle parts of this image are "drop outs," where the data packets inadvertently did not make it back to Earth during the initial communications relay via the Deep Space Network antennas. The missing data packets should be resent to Earth within the next few days. Just above each of the black "drop out" rectangles is another rectangular area filled with a cluster of smaller rectangles in different shades of gray, which are image compression artifacts. For more information about the "blueberries," please see JPL's Press Release dated February 9, 2004. [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20040209a.html ] For more microscopic images of the results from Opportunity's first use of the rock abrasion tool, please see the raw images for sol 30. [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/opportunity_m030.html ] The rock abrasion tools on both Mars Exploration Rovers were supplied by Honeybee Robotics, New York, N.Y.
Evidence of a Water-Soaked P …
PIA05495
Sol (our sun)
Microscopic Imager, Navigati …
Title Evidence of a Water-Soaked Past
Original Caption Released with Image This navigation camera image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the 36th martian day, or sol, of its mission (March 1, 2004) shows the layered rocks of the "El Capitan" area near the rover's landing site at Meridani Planum, Mars. Visible on two of the rocks are the holes drilled by the rover, which provided scientists with a window to this part of the red planet's water-soaked past. Scientists used the rover's microscopic imager and two spectrometers to look at the details of the freshly exposed, clean surfaces created by the rover's rock abrasion tool. Seeing beyond the veil of dust and coatings on the surface of the rock, scientists obtained the best views of the chemical composition of the areas. These data indicated that the rocks are made up of types of sulfate that could have only been created by interaction between water and martian rock. The chemical make-up of the two holes is slightly different, giving scientists an inkling into the geologic history of this area. This history may help to explain the origin of the granular hematite found around the small crater cradling Opportunity and the "El Capitan" rock region. The sulfates and the other chemicals found in the rocks at this location on Mars also occur on Earth, but only rarely. In places like Rio Tinto, Spain, similar minerals are forming today, and microorganisms live and thrive there. Analyzing these two clean surfaces created by the rock abrasion tool proves that Mars had interactions between water and rock over extended amounts of time. Life on Earth is sustained by extended interaction between water and the environment. The fact that scientists have now found evidence of a similar relationship between water and rock on Mars does not necessarily mean that life did develop on Mars, but it does bring the possibility one step closer to reality. Opportunity's wheel tracks can be seen at the bottom left and right sides of this image. The tracks extend to the center of the image, indicating where Opportunity sat when it analyzed the rocks with the instruments on its robotic arm.
Peeling Back the Layers
PIA05627
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Peeling Back the Layers
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this panoramic camera image of the rock target named "Mazatzal" on sol 77 (March 22, 2004). It is a close-up look at the rock face and the targets that will be brushed and ground by the rock abrasion tool in upcoming sols. Mazatzal, like most rocks on Earth and Mars, has layers of material near its surface that provide clues about the history of the rock. Scientists believe that the top layer of Mazatzal is actually a coating of dust and possibly even salts. Under this light coating may be a more solid portion of the rock that has been chemically altered by weathering. Past this layer is the unaltered rock, which may give scientists the best information about how Mazatzal was formed. Because each layer reveals information about the formation and subsequent history of Mazatzal, it is important that scientists get a look at each of them. For this reason, they have developed a multi-part strategy to use the rock abrasion tool to systematically peel back Mazatzal's layers and analyze what's underneath with the rover's microscopic imager, and its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers. The strategy began on sol 77 when scientists used the microscopic imager to get a closer look at targets on Mazatzal named "New York,\""Illinois" and "Arizona." These rock areas were targeted because they posed the best opportunity for successfully using the rock abrasion tool, Arizona also allowed for a close-up look at a range of tones. On sol 78, Spirit's rock abrasion tool will do a light brushing on the Illinois target to preserve some of the surface layers. Then, a brushing of the New York target should remove the top coating of any dust and salts and perhaps reveal the chemically altered rock underneath. Finally, on sol 79, the rock abrasion tool will be commanded to grind into the New York target, which will give scientists the best chance of observing Mazatzal's interior. The Mazatzal targets were named after the home states of some of the rock abrasion tool and science team members.
Dark Sand Dunes
PIA05693
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Dark Sand Dunes
Original Caption Released with Image 18 March 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of low-albedo (i.e., dark) sand dunes in a crater in Noachis Terra. Dunes on Earth are usually light while those on Mars are usually dark. This contrast results from a difference in the mineral composition. Earth dunes often contain abundant quartz, which appears light, while martian dunes typically contain minerals and rock fragments abundant in iron- and magnesium-rich minerals, which are usually dark. This dune field is located near 41.7°S, 319.8°W. The steeper slopes on these dunes, known as slip faces, point toward the lower left (southwest), indicating the dominant winds come from the northeast (upper right). This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.
Carbon Dioxide Landforms
PIA05694
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Carbon Dioxide Landforms
Original Caption Released with Image 19 March 2004 The martian south polar residual ice cap is mostly made of frozen carbon dioxide. There is no place on Earth that a person can go to see the landforms that would be produced by erosion and sublimation of hundreds or thousands of cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide. Thus, the south polar cap of Mars is as alien as alien can get. This image, acquired in February 2004 by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), shows how the cap appears in summer as carbon dioxide is subliming away, creating a wild pattern of pits, mesas, and buttes. Darker surfaces may be areas where the ice contains impurities, such as dust, or where the surface has been roughened by the removal of ice. This image is located near 86.3°S, 0.8°W. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the top/upper left.
Small, Bouldery Crater
PIA05846
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Small, Bouldery Crater
Original Caption Released with Image 30 April 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a relatively young impact crater located in southeastern Arabia Terra near 4.8°N, 313.9°W. It is about 1 kilometer (about six tenths of a mile) in diameter, roughly the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, U.S.A. Indeed, the Arizona crater may once have looked very similar to this, but erosion on Earth has been more vigorous than on the modern Mars. Large boulders, many of them bigger than a typical house, can be seen in the ejecta blanket and on the crater floor. Fine, bright dust, common throughout Arabia Terra, has thinly mantled all but the steepest slopes. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the left/upper left. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across.
Clouds Roll in for Martian W …
PIA06384
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Clouds Roll in for Martian Winter
Original Caption Released with Image Using its left navigation camera, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity sought to capture some clouds on its 153rd sol on Mars (June 28, 2004). The presence of morning clouds in the area of Endurance Crater was established by spacecraft orbiting Mars. Mars has three kinds of clouds: dust clouds low in the atmosphere, water clouds near the surface up to heights of 20 kilometers (about 12 miles), and carbon dioxide clouds at very high altitudes. Just as on Earth, clouds, especially water clouds, are good tracers of the weather. Based on orbital data, more clouds are expected during the martian winter. As this change occurs, the rover's cameras and miniature thermal emission spectrometer will track other changes that occur as the clouds accumulate. The rovers provide a unique opportunity to examine the lower portion of Mars' atmosphere. The lower atmosphere is difficult to characterize from orbit, but it is critical because that is where the atmosphere interacts with the surface. Since the rovers landed, the science team has been using the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument to see the weather at this bottom layer.
South Polar Terrain
PIA06722
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title South Polar Terrain
Original Caption Released with Image 25 July 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layers broken-up by processes that form nearly square polygonal cracks and textures in the south polar region of Mars. Exactly how the polygons formed is anyone's guess, typically, polygon patterns in the martian polar regions are taken to indicate the presence of ground ice, similar to polygons in the Earth's arctic and antarctic regions. This picture is located near 86.4°S, 180.3°W, and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.
Ancient Bedforms
PIA06805
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Ancient Bedforms
Original Caption Released with Image 18 August 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows groupings of large ripple-like windblown bedforms on the floor of a large crater (larger than the image shown here) in Sinus Sabaeus, south of Schiaparelli Basin. These ripple-like features are much larger than typical wind ripples on Earth, but smaller than typical sand dunes on either planet. Like most of the other ripple-like bedforms in Sinus Sabaeus, they are probably ancient and no longer mobile. Dark streaks on the substrate between the bedforms were formed by passing dust devils. This image is located near 13.0°S, 343.7°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.
Solar Conjunction Ends: Nirg …
PIA06886
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Solar Conjunction Ends: Nirgal Vallis
Original Caption Released with Image 28 September 2004 For the past several weeks, Mars was on the other side of the Sun relative to Earth. During this period, known as solar conjunction, radio communication with spacecraft orbiting and roving on Mars was limited. As is always done during "solar conjunction", on 7 September 2004, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was turned off. On Saturday, 25 September 2004, the MOC team gathered at Malin Space Science Systems to command the instrument to turn back on again. After a successful turn-on, MOC acquired its first narrow angle camera image, shown here, on orbit 24808 (24,808th orbit since the start of the Mapping phase of the MGS mission in March 1999). The 25 September image shows a portion of Nirgal Vallis, an ancient valley system in the Mare Erythraeum region of Mars. The valley floor is covered by large, ripple-like bedforms created by wind. This early southern winter image is located near 27.4°S, 42.9°W, and covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. This was the 4th solar conjunction period that MGS and MOC have been through since the spacecraft reached the red planet in September 1997. The four solar conjunction periods, where MOC was turned off, were: * First solar conjunction: 29 April - 1 June 1998 * Second solar conjunction: 22 June - 12 July 2000 * Third solar conjunction: 1 August - 18 August 2002 * Fourth solar conjunction: 7 September - 25 September 2004. In late October, MGS MOC will mark the start of its fourth Mars year since the beginning of the Mapping Phase of the mission in March 1999. MGS and MOC have already been orbiting Mars for more than 4 Mars years, including the pre-Mapping aerobrake and science phasing orbit insertion periods.
'Endurance Crater' Overview
PIA06865
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera, Panoram …
Title 'Endurance Crater' Overview
Original Caption Released with Image This overview of "Endurance Crater" traces the path of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity from sol 94 (April 29, 2004) to sol 205 (August 21, 2004). The route charted to enter the crater was a bit circuitous, but well worth the extra care engineers took to ensure the rover's safety. On sol 94, Opportunity sat on the edge of this impressive, football field-sized crater while rover team members assessed the scene. After traversing around the "Karatepe" region and past "Burns Cliff," the rover engineering team assessed the possibility of entering the crater. Careful analysis of the angles Opportunity would face, including testing an Earth-bound model on simulated martian terrain, led the team to decide against entering the crater at that particular place. Opportunity then backed up before finally dipping into the crater on its 130th sol (June 5, 2004). The rover has since made its way down the crater's inner slope, grinding, trenching and examining fascinating rocks and soil targets along the way. The rover nearly made it to the intriguing dunes at the bottom of the crater, but when it got close, the terrain did not look safe enough to cross.
Bedforms in Maja Valles
PIA06925
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Bedforms in Maja Valles
Original Caption Released with Image 8 October 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows large, light-toned, ripple-like windblown bedforms in a portion of the giant flood channel complex, Maja Valles. Ripples such as these are very common on Mars but not very well understood. They are larger than most ripples on Earth, and smaller than typical dunes. They are usually old, and probably immobile, features. Sometimes, larger, dark sand dunes are seen riding over them (although that is not the case here). If similarly-sized ripples were to be investigated by a Mars rover, they would probably provide critical information that would help determine the nature of bedforms like these all over Mars. The Maja Valles scene shown here is located near 17.7°N, 54.8°W, and covers an area about 1.4 km (0.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.
Fretted Terrain Valleys
PIA06976
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Fretted Terrain Valleys
Original Caption Released with Image 30 October 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows shallow tributary valleys in the Ismenius Lacus fretted terrain region of northern Arabia Terra. These valleys exhibit a variety of typical fretted terrain valley wall and floor textures, including a lineated, pitted material somewhat reminiscent of the surface of a brain. Origins for these features are still being debated within the Mars science community, there are no clear analogs to these landforms on Earth. This image is located near 39.9°N, 332.1°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.
Dunes of Herschel
PIA07152
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Dunes of Herschel
Original Caption Released with Image 27 December 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark, windblown sand dunes on the floor of Herschel Crater. The surfaces of the dunes have grooves eroded into them. This indicates that the sand is not loose, like it is in typical sand dunes on Earth. Instead, the sand is cemented, and wind erosion has been slowly scouring the indurated sands away to create small-scale wind erosion features, known as yardangs. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across, and is located near 15.6°S, 229.0°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.
Hill In Deuteronilus
PIA07153
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Hill In Deuteronilus
Original Caption Released with Image 28 December 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an eroded, rounded hill in the Deuteronilus Colles region of Mars, near 40.3°N, 338.8°W. The plains surrounding the hill have been pitted and modified by erosion. Similar pitting is common throughout the middle latitude regions of Mars. Some Mars science investigators have proposed that the pitted materials were ice-rich, and that sublimation of ice has created these textures. However, no similar landforms are found on Earth, thus there is no clear analog that would help scientists better understand the origin of these features. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left/lower left.
Multiple Channels in Warrego …
PIA05662
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys …
Title Multiple Channels in Warrego Valles
Original Caption Released with Image Released 26 March 2004 The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps, 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation, 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow, and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars. The image shows an area in the Warrego Valles region. It was collected July 6, 2003 during northern summer season. The local time is 5pm. The image shows multiple channels dissecting the terrain. With this image, the 448th, the THEMIS Image of the Day completes its second (Earth) year. (The first image, of Nirgal Vallis [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03756 ], was released on 27 March 2002.) On behalf of the THEMIS team, we'd like to thank you for your continued interest and we hope you continue to come back through our third year and beyond. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -42.3, Longitude 267.5 East (92.5 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.
Multiple Channels in Warrego …
PIA05662
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys …
Title Multiple Channels in Warrego Valles
Original Caption Released with Image Released 26 March 2004 The Odyssey spacecraft has completed a full Mars year of observations of the red planet. For the next several weeks the Image of the Day will look back over this first mars year. It will focus on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps, 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation, 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow, and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars. The image shows an area in the Warrego Valles region. It was collected July 6, 2003 during northern summer season. The local time is 5pm. The image shows multiple channels dissecting the terrain. With this image, the 448th, the THEMIS Image of the Day completes its second (Earth) year. (The first image, of Nirgal Vallis [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03756 ], was released on 27 March 2002.) On behalf of the THEMIS team, we'd like to thank you for your continued interest and we hope you continue to come back through our third year and beyond. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -42.3, Longitude 267.5 East (92.5 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.
Scrutinizing Titan's Surface
PIA06204
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem
Title Scrutinizing Titan's Surface
Original Caption Released with Image ). These lines are on the order of 2 kilometers (1 mile) wide, and tens of kilometers long. Image (d) shows dark material within the bright area to the west of Xanadu. The linear nature of these features suggests that they may have formed by faulting. They may be dark due to modification by other surface processes occurring on Titan, in the same way that on Earth, fault-lines can be enhanced by erosion and/or deposition of material by water and wind. Image (e) shows brightness variations in the region southeast of the Huygens landing site. The features indicated by arrows exhibit shapes that are similar to drainage patterns seen on Earth and Mars, where the source of the liquid is underground springs rather than rainfall. Image (f) shows a region near the northwestern edge of Xanadu where the boundary between the bright and dark materials is quite complicated. Here some of the bright patches appear as if they represent thin surface plates that have been broken apart and spread apart over underlying dark material. The white bars above each image are 200 kilometers (124 miles) long. Imaging Titan through its thick atmosphere is a challenge, and the narrow, straight lines within the images are seams between individual images that have not been completely removed. North is to the top of each frame. 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 ] and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ]., The six close-up views of Titan's surface shown here are composed of images acquired by the Cassini spacecraft during flybys in October (see PIA06158 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06158 ]) and December (see PIA06159 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06159 ]) of 2004. These close-up views illustrate that a variety of processes have shaped the surface of Titan, just as diverse geologic processes are responsible for what we see on Earth's surface. Image (a) shows a prominent bright-dark boundary near the western edge of the Xanadu region which exhibits a sharp, angular edge between the materials. Three bright, discontinuous circles can be seen (two near the top of the image and another near the lower left). These may be large impact craters, the upper two are approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) in diameter and the lower one is approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) in diameter. Titan's thick atmosphere will screen out small projectiles, but if the surface were as old as Titan itself, it should have many more craters of these sizes. Therefore, Cassini scientists think that, like Earth's surface, Titan's surface has been modified more recently by other geologic processes. However, such processes on Titan may take much longer than on Earth, acting over hundreds of millions of years. Image (b) shows bright features that appear to be streamlined as if were they formed by winds in Titan's atmosphere moving from west to east. The landing site of the Huygens probe is in the upper left corner of this image (see PIA07239 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07239 ]). Image (c) shows a bright feature surrounded by dark material. Several long, dark and narrow lines running through the bright area may be larger examples of the dark channels seen by the Huygens probe (see PIA07236 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07236 ]
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