|
|
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. |
|
Mars: Closest Encounter
| Title |
Mars: Closest Encounter |
|
NASA Space Observatories Gli
…
| Title |
NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
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 |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over Western Asia in 2004 |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Westerm Asia. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-07 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over the Nile Delta in 2004 |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Nile Delta. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-12 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over the Eastern United States |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Eastern United States. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-07 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over the Alps |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the European Alps. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-07 |
|
Crater of Bezymianny Volcano
| Title |
Crater of Bezymianny Volcano |
| Description |
Bezymianny Volcano smokes quietly on September 22, 2000, in this view from the Landsat 7 satellite. Bezymianny began erupting in February 2000, and has been moderately active since. On January 13, 2004, a relatively large eruption sent an ash plume 6 kilometers into the air. This activity continues a trend that began in 1955, when the eastern flank of the volcano collapsed in a catastrophic eruption similar to that of Mount Saint Helens in 1980. The resulting crater has been partially filled by a lava dome (easily seen in the above image) that continues to grow. Just to the north stands Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the tallest volcano in Eurasia (4,750 meters). The volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula are some of the most active on Earth. Located on the western edge of the North Pacific, Kamchatka lies along the "Ring of Fire," a zone of volcanoes and frequent earthquakes on the edges of the Pacific Ocean. In mid-January 2004 at least four volcanoes in the region were erupting: Bezymianny and Klyuchevskaya Sopka as well as Shiveluch and Karymsky. Image by Robert Simmon, based on data provided by the Global Land Cover Facility, [ http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/index.shtml ] University of Maryland |
|
Name This Martian Robot
| Title |
Name This Martian Robot |
| Explanation |
NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ] will launch two robots to Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] next year and you can help name them. The Mars Exploration Rovers [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/overview/index.html ] are scheduled for launch [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/mission/tl_launch.html ] on or near this coming June, when Mars and Earth are relatively close [ http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Solar/action?sys=-Si ] in their orbits. The landing craft [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/mission/spacecraft_edl_lander.html ] are expected to touch down on Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] in January 2004 and deploy the robot rovers [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/spotlight/marsrover01.html ] shortly thereafter. Rovers [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/mission/spacecraft_surface_rover.html ] have the capability to crawl [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/mission/tl_surface_nav.html ] about 100 meters each day of their planned [ http://athena.cornell.edu/home/index.html ] 90-day mission. The mission's scientific purpose [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/science/ ] is to seek out and inspect interesting rocks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991030.html ] and terrain [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ] that could give clues to the past of Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/why.html ]. Suggestions for names should be sent here [ http://www.lego.com/rovers/ ], accompanied by a short essay, by 2003 January 31. ("Eds. Note: "The contest is only open to school children in grades K-12.) |
|
Five to Mars
| Title |
Five to Mars |
| Explanation |
Come December 2003 - January 2004, an armada of five new invaders [ http://www.planetary.org/rrgtm/missions5.html ] from Earth should arrive on the shores of the Red Planet -- the Japanese ( ISAS [ http://www.isas.ac.jp/ ]) Nozomi [ http://www.isas.ac.jp/e/enterp/missions/nozomi/ index.html ] orbiter, the European Space Agency's Mars Express [ http://sci.esa.int/home/marsexpress/ ] orbiter carrying the Beagle 2 [ http://www.beagle2.com/index.htm ] lander, and NASA's own two Mars Exploration [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/ ] Rovers. While Nozomi began [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980904.html ] its interplanetary voyage in 1998, the other spacecraft are scheduled for launch windows beginning this June. Clearly, earthdwellers remain intensely curious about Mars and the tantalizing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030221.html ] possibility of past or present martian life [ http://cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov/SiteCat/sitecat2/ stratex.htm ], with these robotic missions focussing on investigating the planet's atmosphere and the search for water [ http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept98/GusevMars.html ]. This mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/ marsglobe2.txt ] of over 100 Viking 1 orbiter images of Mars [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/ photogallery-mars.html ] was recorded in 1980 and is projected to show the perspective seen from an approaching spacecraft at a distance of 2,000 kilometers. Exceptional [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/ article_929_1.asp ] views of Mars will be possible from earthbound telescopes in August and September. |
|
Dust Storm Over Northern Mar
…
| Title |
Dust Storm Over Northern Mars |
| Explanation |
Almost on cue [ http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_998_1.asp ], as Mars nears its closest approach to planet Earth in recorded history, ominous seasonal [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/06/28/ index.html ] dust storms are beginning to kick up. Observers [ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/online.bks/mars/ chap15.htm ] worry that the activity may presage the development of a planet wide dust storm [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011017.html ], frustrating attempts to view Mars in the coming months, a situation similar to the Red Planet's uncooperative behavior [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010727.html ] in 2001. In this example [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/05/28/ index.html ], recorded in mid-May by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft camera, a dust storm the size of a continent sweeps north and east (toward the upper right) across Mars' northern Acidalia Planitia. Meanwhile [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/fun/mars_chro.html ], interplanetary robotic explorers Mars Express [ http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/ index.cfm?fareaid=9 ]/ Beagle 2 [ http://www.beagle2.com/index.htm ], Nozomi [ http://www.isas.ac.jp/e/enterp/missions/nozomi/ index.html ], and the twin Mars Exploration Rovers [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/ ] Opportunity and Spirit, are all bound for Mars and should arrive by early January 2004. |
|
Persistent Saturnian Auroras
| Title |
Persistent Saturnian Auroras |
| Explanation |
Are Saturn's auroras like Earth's? To help answer this question, the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html ] and the Cassini spacecraft [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/mission.cfm ] monitored Saturn's South Pole simultaneously as Cassini closed in [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040301.html ] on the gas giant in January 2004. Hubble snapped images in ultraviolet light [ http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/uv.html ], while Cassini recorded radio emissions [ http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm ] and monitored the solar wind [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/wind.html ]. Like on Earth, Saturn's auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050219.html ] make total or partial rings [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970402.html ] around magnetic pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040919.html ]s. Unlike on Earth, however, Saturn's auroras [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/06/text/ ] persist for days, as opposed to only minutes on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020101.html ]. Although surely created by charged particles [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Ielect.html ] entering the atmosphere, Saturn's auroras [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2004AGUFM.P53B..01C ] also appear to be more closely modulated by the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ] than either Earth's or Jupiter's auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001219.html ]. The above sequence [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/06/image/ ] shows three Hubble images of Saturn [ http://www.nineplanets.org/saturn.html ] each taken two days apart. |
|
Annefrank Near Closest Appro
…
| Title |
Annefrank Near Closest Approach |
| Description |
False colors emphasize the variations in surface brightness on asteroid Annefrank, as seen in an image taken by NASA's Stardust spacecraft during a Nov. 2 flyby of the asteroid. Stardust flew within about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of the asteroid as a rehearsal for the spacecraft's encounter with its primary target, comet Wild 2, in January 2004. The variations in surface brightness result from different angles of solar illumination, as well as from intrinsic variations in the surface. The straight edge at the right side of the asteroid's image may be an artifact of processing. Stardust will bring samples of comet dust back to Earth in 2006 to help answer fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system. Additional information about the mission is available online at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., built and operates the Stardust spacecraft. Stardust is a part of NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, highly focused science missions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science,Washington, D.C. |
| Date |
11.05.2002 |
|
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 |
|
Stardust Image of Asteroid A
…
| Title |
Stardust Image of Asteroid Annefrank |
| Description |
Asteroid Annefrank is seen as irregularly shaped, cratered body in an image taken by NASA's Stardust spacecraft during a Nov. 2 flyby of the asteroid. Stardust flew within about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of the asteroid as a rehearsal for the spacecraft's encounter with its primary target, comet Wild 2, in January 2004. The camera's resolution was sufficient to show that Annefrank is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) in length, twice the predicted size from Earth-based observations. The surface reflects about 0.1 to 0.2 percent of sunlight, slightly less than anticipated. A few craters that are hundreds of meters across can be seen. The straight edge in the right side of the image may be an artifact of processing. Stardust will bring samples of comet dust back to Earth in 2006 to help answer fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system. Additional information about the mission is available online at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., built and operates the Stardust spacecraft. Stardust is a part of NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, highly focused science missions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science,Washington, D.C. |
| Date |
11.05.2002 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Greener Pastures in Northern
…
PIA04352
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Greener Pastures in Northern Queensland, Australia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
After a 19 month rainfall deficiency, heavy rainfall during January 2004 brought drought relief to much of northern Queensland. Local graziers hope for good long-term responses in pasture growth from the heavy rains. These images and maps from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) portray part of Australia's Mitchell Grasslands bioregion before summer rainfall, on October 18, 2003 (left) and afterwards, on February 7, 2004 (right). The top pair of images are natural color views from MISR's nadir camera. The green areas in the post-rainfall image highlight the growth of vegetation. The middle panels show the reflectivity of the surface over the photosynthetically active region (PAR) of visible light (400 - 700 nm), expressed as a directional-hemispherical reflectance (DHR-PAR), or albedo. That portion of the radiation that is not reflected back to the atmosphere or space is absorbed by either the vegetation or the soil. The fraction of PAR radiation absorbed by green vegetation, known as FPAR, is shown in the bottom panels. FPAR is one of the quantities that establishes the photosynthetic and carbon uptake efficiency of live vegetation. MISR's FPAR product makes use of aerosol retrievals to correct for atmospheric scattering and absorption effects, and uses plant canopy structural models to determine the partitioning of solar radiation. Both of these aspects are facilitated by the multiangular nature of the MISR measurements. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbits 20397 and 22028. The panels cover an area of about 290 kilometers x 228 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 106 to 108 within World Reference System-2 path 96. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. |
|
Mars Global Surveyor's View
…
PIA05124
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Global Surveyor's View of Gusev Crater During Spirit's Entry, Descent, and Landing |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 January 2004 When the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, was landing on 4 January 2004 (3 January 2004, PST), Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was in position above the region to receive the critical entry, descent, and landing data via ultra high frequency (UHF) radio transmission to the MGS Mars Relay (MR) system. Data from the MR antenna are stored in the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) computer until they are transmitted to Earth. The transmission from Spirit on 4 January 2004 occurred in real time, as the rover descended, bounced, and rolled to a stop. At the same time that MGS was receiving data during Spirit's landing, the MGS MOC obtained this oblique wide angle view looking east across the martian surface toward Gusev Crater, the site where the MER-A landed. The image on the right is labeled to show the location of Gusev Crater, the arrow points approximately to the place that Spirit touched down. The 165 km (103 mi) diameter Gusev Crater and the Spirit landing site are located near 14.7°S, 184. 6°W. In this view, sunlight is coming from the bottom (west). |
|
Annefrank Near Closest Appro
…
PIA02886
Sol (our sun)
Stardust Navigation Camera
| Title |
Annefrank Near Closest Approach |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
False colors emphasize the variations in surface brightness on asteroid Annefrank, as seen in an image taken by NASA's Stardust spacecraft during a Nov. 2 flyby of the asteroid. Stardust flew within about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of the asteroid as a rehearsal for the spacecraft's encounter with its primary target, comet Wild 2, in January 2004. The variations in surface brightness result from different angles of solar illumination, as well as from intrinsic variations in the surface. The straight edge at the right side of the asteroid's image may be an artifact of processing. Stardust will bring samples of comet dust back to Earth in 2006 to help answer fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system. Additional information about the mission is available online at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., built and operates the Stardust spacecraft. Stardust is a part of NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, highly focused science missions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science,Washington, D.C. |
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Stardust Image of Asteroid A
…
PIA02885
Sol (our sun)
Stardust Navigation Camera
| Title |
Stardust Image of Asteroid Annefrank |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Asteroid Annefrank is seen as irregularly shaped, cratered body in an image taken by NASA's Stardust spacecraft during a Nov. 2 flyby of the asteroid. Stardust flew within about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of the asteroid as a rehearsal for the spacecraft's encounter with its primary target, comet Wild 2, in January 2004. The camera's resolution was sufficient to show that Annefrank is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) in length, twice the predicted size from Earth-based observations. The surface reflects about 0.1 to 0.2 percent of sunlight, slightly less than anticipated. A few craters that are hundreds of meters across can be seen. The straight edge in the right side of the image may be an artifact of processing. Stardust will bring samples of comet dust back to Earth in 2006 to help answer fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system. Additional information about the mission is available online at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., built and operates the Stardust spacecraft. Stardust is a part of NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, highly focused science missions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science,Washington, D.C. |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers install a science panel on the spacecraft Stardust. Scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999, Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a re-entry capsule to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006 |
| Release Date |
12/02/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers get ready to install a science panel on the spacecraft Stardust. Scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999, Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a re-entry capsule to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006 |
| Release Date |
12/02/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers adjust a science panel they are installing on the spacecraft Stardust. Scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999, Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a re-entry capsule to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006 |
| Release Date |
12/02/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the aerogel grid is fully deployed from the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) for final closeout. Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in the SRC to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999 |
| Release Date |
12/07/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers oversee closeout operations of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) and -X spacecraft panel with the spacecraft bus. Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in the SRC to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999 |
| Release Date |
12/14/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers get ready to install the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) and -X spacecraft panel on the Stardust spacecraft . Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in the SRC to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999 |
| Release Date |
12/04/1998 |
|
In the Payload Hazardous Ser
…
| Description |
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers prepare to open the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) residing in a Class 100 glove box. Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in the SRC to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999 |
| Release Date |
12/07/1998 |
|
|
