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Improved MPF 360-degree Colo …
title Improved MPF 360-degree Color Panorama
description This is a more recent "geometrically improved, color enhanced" version of the 360-degree "Gallery Pan", the first contiguous, uniform panorama taken by the Imager for Mars (IMP) over the course of Sols 8, 9, and 10. Different regions were imaged at different times over the three Martian days to acquire consistent lighting and shadow conditions for all areas of the panorama. In this version of the panorama, much of the discontinuity that was due to parallax has been corrected, particularly along the lower tiers of the mosaic containing the Lander features. Distortion due to a 2.5 degree tilt in the IMP camera mast has been removed. The IMP is a stereo imaging system that, in its fully deployed configuration, stands 1.8 meters above the Martian surface, and has a resolution of two millimeters at a range of two meters. The IMP has color capability provided by 24 selectable filters -- twelve filters per "eye". Its red, green, and blue filters were used to take this panorama. The three color images were first digitally balanced according to the transmittance capabilities of a specific high-definition TV device at JPL, and then enhanced via changes to saturation and intensity while retaining the hue. A threshold was applied to avoid changes to the sky. An MTF filter was applied to sharpen feature edges. At left is a Lander petal and a metallic mast which is a portion of the low-gain antenna. On the horizon the double "Twin Peaks" are visible, about 1-2 kilometers away. The rock "Couch" is the dark, curved rock at right of Twin Peaks. Another Lander petal is at left-center, showing the fully deployed forward ramp at far left, and rear ramp at right, which rover Sojourner used to descend to the surface of Mars on July 5. Immediately to the left of the rear ramp is the rock "Barnacle Bill", which scientists found to be andesitic, possibly indicating that it is a volcanic rock (a true andesite) or a physical mixture of particles. Just beyond Barnacle Bill, rover tracks lead to Sojourner, shown using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study the large rock "Yogi". Yogi, low in quartz content, appears to be more primitive than Barnacle Bill, and appears more like the common basalts found on Earth. The tracks and circular pattern in the soil leading up to Yogi were part of Sojourner's soil mechanics experiments, in which varying amounts of pressure were applied to the wheels in order to determine physical properties of the soil. During its traverse to Yogi the rover stirred the soil and exposed material from several centimeters in depth. During one of the turns to deploy Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer, the wheels dug particularly deeply and exposed white material. Spectra of this white material show it is virtually identical to the rock "Scooby Doo", and such white material may underlie much of the site. Deflated airbags are visible at the perimeter of all three Lander petals. *Image Credit*: NASA
Skylab M512 Materials Proces …
Name of Image Skylab M512 Materials Processing Facility (MPF) with the M518 Multipurpose Electric Facility (MEF)
Date of Image 2004-04-15
Full Description The M512 Materials Processing Facility (MPF) with the M518 Multipurpose Electric Facility (MEF) tested and demonstrated a facility approach for materials process experimentation in space. It also provided a basic apparatus and a common interface for a group of metallic and nonmetallic materials experiments. The MPF consisted of a vacuum work chamber and associated mechanical and electrical controls. The M518 Multipurpose Electric Furnace (MEF) was an electric furnace system in which solidification, crystal growth, and other experiments involving phase changes were performed.
Stereo Eros
Title Stereo Eros
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] and float next to asteroid 433 Eros [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~cchapman/finderos.html ], 260 million kilometers away! Orbiting the Sun once every 1.8 earth-years, asteroid Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/history/eros_useful.html ] is a diminutive 40 x 14 x 14 kilometer world of undulating horizons, craters, boulders [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000216.html ] and valleys. Its unsettling scale and bizarre shape are emphasized in this picture [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000218/index.html ] - a mosaic of recent images from the NEAR spacecraft processed [ http://visearth.ucsd.edu/Stereo/ ] to yield a stereo anaglyphic [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/3_d.html ] view. Along with dramatic chiaroscuro, NEAR's 3-D imaging provides important measurements of the asteroid's landforms and structures, and hopefully clues to the origin [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Voyage/1.html ] of this city-sized chunk of solar system [ http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. The smallest features visible here are about 30 meters across.
Martian Dust Devil Trails
Title Martian Dust Devil Trails
Explanation Who's [ http://www.gargaro.com/marvin.html ] been marking up Mars? This portion of a recent high-resolution picture [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/lpsc2000/3_00_dustdevil/ index.html ] from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft shows twisting dark trails criss-crossing a relatively flat rippled region about 3 kilometers wide on the martian surface. Newly formed [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/7_30_98_devil_rel/ ] trails like these presented researchers with a tantalizing martian mystery but have now been identified as likely the work of miniature wind vortices [ http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/honors/student/tornado/spouts.htm ] known to occur on the red planet [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] - martian dust devils [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/7_1_99_devils/ ]. Another example of wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000202.html ] processes on [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/atmospheric.html ] an active Mars, dust devils [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~lemmon/impMPF/ ] had been detected passing near the Viking and Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] landers. Such spinning columns of rising air heated by the warm surface are common in dry and desert areas on planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000303.html ]. Typically lasting only a few minutes, they becoming visible as they pick up loose dust. On Mars [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology_mars.html ], dust devils [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/8_10_99_releases/moc2_171/ index.html ] can be up to 8 kilometers high [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/8_10_99_releases/moc2_171/ moc2_171d_msss.jpg ] and leave dark trails as they disturb the bright, reflective surface dust.
A Presidential Panorama of M …
Title A Presidential Panorama of Mars
Explanation Scroll right to unfold one of the great panoramas ever taken on the surface of Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ]. For best viewing, click and hold the right arrow icon at the bottom of your browser window. This image [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ], dubbed a "presidential panorama" by the Mars Pathfinder team [ http://entertainment.digital.com/mars/exclusive-video.html ], shows in colorful detail the surroundings of the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ]. Now look closely at the big rock midway through the scrolling picture. That rock is called Yogi [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980309.html ] and just to its left is the robot Sojourner Rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991030.html ] taking measurements of it. Other now-famous rocks are also visible including Barnacle Bill [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970708.html ] and Flat Top. After this picture was taken Sojourner went on to analyze a rock named Scooby Doo. The Mars Pathfinder mission [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index.html ] landed on 1997 July 4 and collected data [ http://imp.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/ ] for about three months. Analysis indicates [ http://imp.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/press_releases/29jun_98.html ] that the Pathfinder site was likely awash in water in the distant past, but has been dry for the last two billion years.
Slightly Above Mars Pathfind …
Title Slightly Above Mars Pathfinder
Explanation If you could have hovered above the Pathfinder mission [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/fact_sheet.html ] to Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ] in 1997, this is what you might have seen. Directly below you is the control tower of Sagan [ http://www.sciam.com/explorations/010697sagan/010697explorations.html ] Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ]. Three dark solar arrays extend out to collect valuable energy, surrounded by light-colored deflated airbags that protected Pathfinder's instruments from directly colliding with the rocky Martian surface. The left solar panel [ http://www.qrg.nwu.edu/projects/vss/docs/Power/1-what-are-solar-panels.html ] has ramps down which Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ]'s rolling robot Sojourner [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/mission.html ] started its adventure to nearby rocks. Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991030.html ] itself is visible inspecting a rock nicknamed Yogi [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980309.html ] at 11 o'clock. Rocks cover the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960207.html ], with Twin Peaks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970714.html ] visible on the horizon at 9 0'clock. The distant sky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970804.html ] is mostly orange. This image [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA02652 ] is a recently released digital combination of panoramic picture [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ]s taken by Pathfinder on Mars and a picture of a Lander scale model back on Earth. The Mars Pathfinder Mission [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index1.html ] was able to collect data for three months, sending back information that has indicated a wet distant past [ http://imp.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/press_releases/29jun_98.html ] for Mars.
The Yardangs Of Mars
Title The Yardangs Of Mars
Explanation OK, fans of classic science fiction [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] might be disappointed. The yardangs are not barsoomian warriors in a newly discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs tale [ http://www.literature.org/authors/burroughs-edgar-rice/ ] of adventure and conquest on the Red Planet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990424.html ]. In fact "yardangs", geologists' term for narrow, wind-eroded ridges, are common land features [ http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Square/2077/ mayard2.html ] in the desert regions of planet Earth. Such Eolian [ http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/eolian/ ] (wind related) landforms are common on Mars [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/mars/ ] too, and this recently released Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ ] picture shows long, sculpted yardangs in the eastern Aeolis region of southern Elysium Planitia. These martian yardangs may have formed in deposits of volcanic [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980730.html ] ash. Covering a swath of the martian surface 2.5 kilometers high, this composite image [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/nov_3_00_3d/index.html ] does offer special effects, though. If you have red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] (red for the left eye) you can view the yardangs of Mars in astounding 3-D!
Martian Analemma
Title Martian Analemma
Explanation On planet Earth, an analemma [ http://www.analemma.com ] is the figure-8 loop [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061223.html ] you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout the year. But similarly marking the position of the Sun in the Martian sky would produce the simpler, stretched pear shape [ http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/allison_02/ ] in this digital illustration, based on the Mars Pathfinder project's famous Presidential Panorama [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ] view from the surface. The simulation shows the late afternoon [ http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/mars/time/ ] Sun that would have been seen from the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index1.html ] once every 30 Martian days [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timekeeping_on_Mars ] (sols) beginning on Pathfinder's Sol 24 (July 29, 1997). Slightly less bright, the simulated Sun is only about two thirds the size as seen from Earth, while the Martian [ http://pweb.jps.net/~tgangale/mars/faq.htm ] dust, responsible for the reddish sky of Mars, also scatters some blue light around the solar disk.
Apollo / Surveyor Stereo Vie …
Title Apollo / Surveyor Stereo View
Explanation Put on your red/blue glasses and gaze into this dramatic stereo view from the surface of the Moon [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html ]! Inspired by last Saturday's APOD [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010303.html ], experimentor Patrick Vantuyne offers this stereo rendering of Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad visiting the Surveyor 3 spacecraft in November of 1969. To create the stereo [ http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/ apod_search?stereo ] image, Vantuyne carefully combed through the pictures available for downloading from the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html ] web site to find two which would make an appropriate "stereo pair". He found [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/ images12.html#HiRes ] a pair that depicted the captivating scene from only slightly different viewpoints, approximating the separation between human eyes. Combining the two separate pictures, one tinted red and the other blue-green, with the correct offset, produces the stereo effect [ http://www.primenet.com/~deborah/ Stereo3D/ ] when viewed using red/blue glasses, the red filter covering the left eye. The color filters [ http://axon.physik.uni-bremen.de/research/stereo/ color_anaglyph/ ] guide each eye to see only the picture with the correct corresponding viewpoint and the brain interprets the result as normal stereo vision [ http://www.illusionworks.com/ ]. ("Editor's note:" While you've got those glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] on ... other web sources of astronomy and space science stereo images include the Mars Path Finder [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/ sitemap/anaglyph.html ] archive and a 3D Tour of the Solar System [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research/stereo_atlas/SS3D.HTM ].)
Stereo Sun
Title Stereo Sun
Explanation This week's stereo offering [ http://www.nsa-3d.org/ ] features the now famous Active Region 9393, the largest sunspot group [ http://www.spaceweather.com/sunspots/history.html ] in the last 10 years. Viewed with red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ], the stereo pair of images merges into one 3D representation of the Sun with AR9393 above and right of center. The images were recorded in extreme ultraviolet light [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/ multiwavelength.html ] and AR9393 is seen as an extensive array of bright patches laced with large graceful loops of arcing plasma. In the extreme ultraviolet, active regions outshine the solar surface, just the reverse of their appearance as dark sunspots against a bright photosphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010315.html ] when viewed in visible light. Recorded 96 minutes apart on March 30 [ http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ get_soho_images?summary+20010330 ] by the space-based SOHO EIT camera [ http://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/eit/ ], the pair produces an exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://www.dddesign.com/3dbydan/web_ring.htm ] due to solar rotation -- the Sun's surface moving slightly between the two exposures [ http://users.comlab.ox.ac.uk/ian.collier/3d/stereo.html ] to offer different perspectives [ http://sec.gsfc.nasa.gov/stereo.htm ].
Apollo 12: Stereo View Near …
Title Apollo 12: Stereo View Near Surveyor Crater
Explanation This weekend's stereo picture [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/p01.html ] finds Apollo 12 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apollo12info.html ] astronaut Pete Conrad standing on the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ ] near the southern rim of Surveyor Crater in November of 1969. With red/blue glasses you can gaze beyond [ http://users.pandora.be/patrick.vantuyne1/ ] the spacesuited Conrad across the magnificent desolation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ] of the Moon's Ocean of Storms [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/pub/research/stereo_atlas/ HTDOCS/A2LS-BL2.HTM ]. Conrad stands next to large chunks of loose rock, debris from the small impact crater. A sampling scoop is in his right hand and a specially designed tool carrier rests by his left foot as he poses for the picture. His photographer, fellow astronaut Al Bean, captured two separate images (cataloged as AS12-49-7318 and AS12-49-7319) by doing something like a stereo "cha-cha" [ http://www.rmm3d.com/3d.encyclopedia/ single.cam.html ] ... taking the first picture while resting his weight on his right foot and the second after shifting to his left. With the first tinted blue and second red, the pair of pictures were offset and combined to create a 3D anaglyph [ http://dogfeathers.com/3d/index.html ]. Donning red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/ glasses.html ] allows the result to be viewed with stereo vision [ http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/wagart/anaglyphpage/ anaglyph.html ].
Mars: 3-D Dunes
Title Mars: 3-D Dunes
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/ glasses.html ] and treat yourself to this dramatic 3-D view of sand dunes on Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]! The field of undulating dunes is found in Nili Patera, a volcanic depression in central Syrtis Major [ http://www.orbital9.com/mars/syrtis.shtml ], the most prominent dark feature on the Red Planet [ http://marsproject.com/syrtis.htm ]. Two different images from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft were combined to make this stereo picture [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/camera/images/moc_5_24_01/ stereo/index.html ], one taken in March 1999 and the other recorded in April 2001. Sculpted by winds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000202.html ] like the sand dunes of Earth [ http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/eolian/ ], these particular Martian dunes show no change in shape over the time [ http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/mars/time/ ] separating the two images, a period equivalent to about one Martian year [ http://www.jps.net/gangale/mars/chronium/ chron1.htm ]. This cropped version of the 3-D [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research/stereo_atlas/SS3D.HTM ] picture spans an area around 2 kilometers across. Walking, you might cover that distance in about 20 minutes.
Surrounded by Mars
Title Surrounded by Mars
Explanation Just after landing on Mars in 1997, the robotic Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index1.html ] main station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000912.html ] took a quick first look around. This insurance panorama [ http://faculty.physics.tamu.edu/lemmon/about_udp.html ] was taken even before the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ] camera was raised to its two-meter-high perch. The full view is best seen by slowly scrolling to the right. The unique perspective captures many Mars Pathfinder instruments [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/sci_desc.html ] in the close foreground including a screen for judging sky illumination, communications antennae, solar panels [ http://www.qrg.nwu.edu/projects/vss/docs/Power/1-what-are-solar-panels.html ], and two ramps leading down to the surface for the robot probe Sojourner [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/rover/mission.html ]. After taking the ramp on the right, Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991030.html ] can be seen on the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ]. Visible on the surface are numerous rocks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980309.html ] and hills [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990704.html ] that came to be better studied. The Mars Pathfinder mission [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/mpf.pdf ] went on to return 16,000 images and data that resulted in many discoveries [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf-pressrel.html ], including evidence for warmer and wetter conditions on Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ] in the past. After nearly three spectacular months exploring the surface, Mars Pathfinder dropped out of communication [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf-929-pressrel.html ], likely the result of depleted battery power.
Apollo 12: Stereo View Near …
Title Apollo 12: Stereo View Near Surveyor Crater
Explanation This weekend's stereo picture [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/p01.html ] finds Apollo 12 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apollo12info.html ] astronaut Pete Conrad standing on the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ ] near the southern rim of Surveyor Crater in November of 1969. With red/blue glasses you can gaze beyond [ http://users.pandora.be/patrick.vantuyne1/doc2.htm ] the spacesuited Conrad across the magnificent desolation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ] of the Moon's Ocean of Storms [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/pub/research/stereo_atlas/ HTDOCS/A2LS-BL2.HTM ]. Conrad stands next to large chunks of loose rock, debris from the small impact crater. A sampling scoop is in his right hand and a specially designed tool carrier rests by his left foot as he poses for the picture. His photographer, fellow astronaut Al Bean, captured two separate images (cataloged as AS12-49-7318 and AS12-49-7319) by doing something like a stereo "cha-cha" [ http://www.rmm3d.com/3d.encyclopedia/ single.cam.html ] ... taking the first picture while resting his weight on his right foot and the second after shifting to his left. With the first tinted blue and second red, the pair of pictures were offset and combined to create a 3D anaglyph [ http://dogfeathers.com/3d/index.html ]. Donning red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/ glasses.html ] allows the result to be viewed with stereo vision [ http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/wagart/anaglyphpage/ anaglyph.html ].
3D Mars: Northern Terra Meri …
Title 3D Mars: Northern Terra Meridiani
Explanation In this spectacular 3D stereoscopic view from orbit [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/E01_E06_sampler2002/ meridiani/ ], steep-sided, flat-topped hills stand above the Terra Meridiani region of Mars. Seen best with red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] (red for the left eye), the structures are reminiscent of buttes and mesas found in southwestern areas [ http://www.americansouthwest.net/index.shtml ] of the North American continent on planet Earth [ http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/canyonlands/ rainbow_l.html ]. Like their terrestrial counterparts [ http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/ mval3_l.html ], these layered martian outcrops apparently formed of hard sedimentary [ http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/usgsnps/rxmin/ rock2.html ] rocks with surrounding softer material eroded away. The possibility that surface water [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020627.html ] laid down the formations makes the Terra Meridiani [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/ zoom-20020628a.html ] region a tempting target for future exploration [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/fido/ ] by Mars landers. But alternative explanations include material deposited by wind or accumulations of volcanic [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020808.html ] ash. The area pictured is about 3 kilometers across, maybe a thirty minute walk over flat ground. Terrestrial rock climbers take note [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/ask/ humans-on-mars/ ], you and your equipment would only weigh around 1/3 as much in the lower martian [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ marsfact.html ] surface gravity.
Stereo Saturn
Title Stereo Saturn
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] and launch [ http://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/exhibits/voyager/ default.html ] yourself into this stereo [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/research/stereo_atlas/ SS3D.HTM ] picture of Saturn! The picture is actually composed from two images recorded weeks apart by the Voyager 2 spacecraft [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/ MasterCatalog?sc=1977-076A ] during its visit to [ http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/sat_missns/ sat-voy2.html ] the Saturnian System in August of 1981. Traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft's changing viewpoint from one image to the next produced this exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970404.html ]. Saturn is the second largest planet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/ saturn.html ] in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Its spectacular ring system [ http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html ] is so wide that it would span the space between the Earth and Moon. Although they look solid here, Saturn's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000129.html ] rings consist of individually orbiting bits of ice and rock ranging in size from grains of sand to barn-sized boulders.
Apollo 17: Boulder in Stereo
Title Apollo 17: Boulder in Stereo
Explanation Humans left the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021212.html ] over thirty years ago, but donning red-blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/ glasses.html ] (red for the left eye) you can share this excellent stereo [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010310.html ] perspective view of their last stomping ground. Recorded [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/ 10075973.htm ] by Eugene Cernan, the scene depicts his fellow astronaut and geologist Harrison Schmitt next to a large split boulder on the floor of the narrow Taurus-Littrow valley located at the eastern edge of the lunar Mare Serenitatis. Parked nearby, their lunar rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010609.html ] is visible beyond the boulder at the right. During their stay the Apollo 17 astronauts explored [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ] the unusually dark terrain at the Taurus-Littrow landing site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ] and deployed explosives to test [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/ Apollo17/A17_Experiments_LSPE.html ] the internal geology of the Moon. Apollo 17 returned the most lunar rocks and soil samples of any lunar mission [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html ].
Stereo Eros
Title Stereo Eros
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] and float next to asteroid 433 Eros [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=433 ], 170 million kilometers away! Orbiting the Sun once every 1.8 earth-years, asteroid Eros is [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/history/eros_useful.html ] a diminutive 40 x 14 x 14 kilometer world of undulating horizons, craters, boulders [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000721.html ] and valleys. Its unsettling scale and bizarre shape are emphasized in this picture [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000218/index.html ] - a mosaic of images from the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/news/flash/02dec12_1.html ] processed to yield a stereo anaglyphic [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/3_d.html ] view. Along with dramatic [ http://www.artofcolour.com/chiaroscuro/chiaroscuro-image-files/ st-matthew.jpg ] chiaroscuro [ http://www2.evansville.edu/studiochalkboard/ s-chiaro.html ], NEAR's 3-D imaging provided important measurements of the asteroid's landforms and structures, and clues to the origin [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/Voyage/1.html ] of this city-sized chunk of solar system [ http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. The smallest features visible here are about 30 meters across. After spending a year in orbit around Eros, the historic Near Shoemaker spacecraft made the first ever landing on an asteroid's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010824.html ] February 12, 2001.
Martian Analemma
Title Martian Analemma
Explanation On planet Earth, an analemma [ http://www.analemma.com ] is the figure-8 loop [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030320.html ] you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day throughout the year. But similarly marking the position of the Sun in the Martian sky would produce the simpler, stretched pear shape [ http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/allison_02/ ] in this digital illustration [ http://www.skyscapes.com/MarsAnalemma.htm ], based on the Mars Pathfinder project's famous Presidential Panorama [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ] view from the surface. The simulation shows the late afternoon [ http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/mars/time/ ] Sun that would have been seen from the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index1.html ] once every 30 Martian days (sols) beginning on Sol 24 (July 29, 1997). Slightly less bright, the simulated Sun is only about two thirds the size as seen from Earth, while the Martian [ http://pweb.jps.net/~tgangale/mars/faq.htm ] dust, responsible for the reddish sky of Mars, also scatters some blue light around the solar disk. Astronomer Dennis Mammana offers the illustration to mark the hopeful beginning of an exciting new era of robotic exploration [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030502.html ] of the Red Planet, with two new Mars missions [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/ ] now enroute [ http://sci.esa.int/home/marsexpress/ ] and one preparing to launch.
Bound For Mars
Title Bound For Mars
Explanation Two NASA spacecraft, Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mgs-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] and Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], are presently approaching the red planet [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ]. Pathfinder is scheduled to land on July 4th and Global Surveyor due to enter orbit in September. Recent studies of the Martian climate [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970324.html ], motivated by this impending invasion of spacecraft from Earth [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov:80/mars/ ], have indicate that Mars weather is more chaotic than previously thought [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/15/background.html ] - showing abrupt swings between "hot and dusty" and "cold and cloudy". These Hubble Space Telescope images [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/15.html ] from March 1997 show the Northern Hemisphere in early Martian summer [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/15/C.html ], with a receding polar cap and whitish water-ice clouds. The left image is centered on Ares Valles, Pathfinder's landing site [ http://mpfwww.arc.nasa.gov/mpf/landing.html ], while in the right image, towering Tharsis mountains [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950719.html ] (massive extinct volcanoes) can be seen poking through the clouds. Stretching to the eastern edge of the righthand image (at lower right) is the Valles Marineris [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950720.html ], an immense canyon system. Martian weather reports [ http://nova.stanford.edu/projects/mgs/dmwr.html ] will play an important role [ http://mpfwww.arc.nasa.gov/mpf/marswatch.html ] in mission planning. Both spacecraft rely on the Martian atmosphere for braking maneuvers and Pathfinder's lander and rover are solar powered.
Mars: Just The Facts
Title Mars: Just The Facts
Explanation Mars [ http://www.challenger.org/marsl.html ], the freeze-dried planet [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html ], orbits 137 million miles from the Sun or at about 1.5 times the Earth-Sun distance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960727.html ]. It has two diminutive moons [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961222.html ], towering extinct volcanos [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950719.html ], an immense canyon system [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950720.html ], a thin atmosphere chiefly composed of carbon dioxide (CO2), a frigid average surface temperature of -63 degrees Celsius [ http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/blynds/tmp.html ], and permanent frozen CO2 polar caps which contain some water ice. Mars' surface presently lacks liquid water [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970316.html ] and has a reddish color because of an abundance of oxidized iron compounds (rust). A small terrestrial planet [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ], fourth from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ], Mars has only about 3/8 the surface gravity of Earth. So for example, if you tip the scale at a hefty 200 pounds on Earth you'd be a 75 pound featherweight on Mars [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/ ]. The low martian gravity will be good for NASA's Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] spacecraft scheduled to land on Mars [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/mars.htm ] next Friday, July 4th [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/mission.success.html ]. Using rockets, parachutes, and airbags [ http://mars.sgi.com/mpf/realtime/edlpage.html ], Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.arc.nasa.gov/mpf/mission_ops.html ] will be the first spacecraft to touchdown on the planet since the Viking landers [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960722.html ] in 1976. Pathfinder is also scheduled to begin the first ever mobile surface exploration [ http://cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov/ ] by releasing the robot rover [ http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/coolrobots96.html ], "Mars Sojourner" [ http://mars.sgi.com/rover/about.html ].
A Martian Day's End
Title A Martian Day's End
Explanation A Day or "Sol" on Mars is only 40 minutes longer than an Earth day - and Pathfinder's first [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970705.html ] day on Mars, Sol 1 according to its local calendar, was an eventful one [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970704.html ]. Still, late in the martian afternoon [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/resources/mars_data-information/mars_overview.html ] of Sol 1, the camera on board the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft recorded [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] this panorama of the ancient floodplain Ares Vallis [ http://members.aol.com/space7/exper.html ]. Two of the three landing petals lie in the foreground at the edges of this scene surrounded by deflated and partially gathered airbags. The martian soil near the spacecraft has been disturbed by the airbag retraction. The petal holding the undeployed robot rover Sojourner [ http://mars.compuserve.com/mpf/rover.html ] is at the left. One of Sojourner's planned routes to the surface will be down the ramp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970420.html ] seen rolled up at the petal's edge. Mission teams have overcome some rover communications [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/rovercom/rovcom.html ] problems and are proceding carefully with plans to roll the Sojourner out onto the martian surface [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/index.html ]. NASA has announced that the Pathfinder station on Mars will be renamed in honor of astronomer Carl Sagan [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961226.html ].
A Landing On Mars
Title A Landing On Mars
Explanation Today, July 4th [ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ ], at about 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), the Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.sgi.com/index.html ] spacecraft will land on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970703.html ]. Ninety minutes before reaching the surface Pathfinder will begin a flurry of activity. The robot spacecraft is scheduled to [ http://mpfwww.arc.nasa.gov/mpf/edl/edl1.html ] vent cooling fluid, jettison its cruise stage, decelerate at 20 gees on atmospheric entry, deploy a 24 foot parachute, jettison its heat shield, slide down a 60 foot bridle, fire solid fuel braking rockets, deploy a cocoon of airbags, separate from the bridle, impact the martian surface, bounce a few times (traveling about 300 - 600 feet between bounces), settle on the surface, deflate the airbags, right itself, deploy its landing petals, and resume communication with planet Earth, all under the autonomous control of the onboard computer. If all goes well [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960825.html ], at about 4:30 PM PDT the Pathfinder's camera "IMP" will spring into action [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/index.html ] recording frame by frame a panoramic view of the surface. Dubbed "Mission Success" [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/mission.success.html ] the mosaic above is a laboratory simulation of the planned first image sequence to be downlinked from the surface of Mars.
Yogi Rock
Title Yogi Rock
Explanation This portrait [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/img/81203.txt ] of Yogi Rock, a now famous boulder on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ], was recorded on Sol [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970706.html ] 3 by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP [ http://imp.lpl.arizona.edu/mars/ ]). Big and friendly looking like its Earth cartoon namesake Yogi Bear, Yogi Rock is a prominent visible feature at the Pathfinder landing site [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/landingsite.html ]. Yogi and surrounding [ http://www.sun.com/mars/default.html ] soil are being examined close up [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/pf07091.txt ] by the Sojourner robot rover. Initial attempts [ http://www.sun.com/mars/ops/rvrmovie.html ] to approach the rock and to place Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer [ http://mars.sgi.com/mpf/sci_desc.html#APXS ] against it have met with some minor, but not unusual, difficulties [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/pf970710.html ]. It is speculated that the light colored "moat-like" terrain around Yogi is the result of the evaporation of surface water deposited by ancient floods.
Sol 4: Mars Color Panorama
Title Sol 4: Mars Color Panorama
Explanation These mosaicked images [ http://mars.compuserve.com/default.html ] form a color panorama of the region immediately surrounding the Sagan Memorial Station on Mars [ http://www.challenger.org/marsl.html ]. The most recent images were recorded on Sol 4 - the 4th day of operations on the martian surface [ http://mars.compuserve.com/ops/rover.html ]. The composite view reveals the reddish soil and rock-strewn terrain of an ancient martian [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/fun/pop.html ] flood channel. At top panel left the unused forward rover deployment ramp is seen extending from the bottom of the frame while farther to the right the Sojourner rover is visible [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ]. The large dark looking rock at the top of the panel near the right-hand side is called "Yogi". The now famous martian rock, Barnacle Bill, is seen just to the left of the rover itself. Sojourner's analysis shows that [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/pf9707081.html ] Barnacle Bill is unexpectedly similar to common quartz containing volcanic rocks on Earth! In the bottom panel yellowish material from some of the airbags [ http://mars.compuserve.com/mpf/mpfairbags.html ] that were used during landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970704.html ] can be seen along with regions of the martian soil that have been disturbed by the retraction of the deflated airbags.
Sojourner On Mars
Title Sojourner On Mars
Explanation The six wheeled robot rover Mars Sojourner [ http://mars.compuserve.com/ops/rover.html ] rolled onto the martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970705.html ] on July 5th (Sol 2) [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970706.html ] at about 10:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time. This image confirms that its descent down the lander's rear deployment ramp was successful. Click on the image to download a "movie gif" constructed from 9 images taken by the Sagan Memorial Station's IMP camera [ http://mars.compuserve.com/default.html ] which shows the rover rolling down the ramp! The rover moved only a short distance from the ramp and spent the night analyzing the martian soil [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/resources/ mars_data-information/mars_overview.html#Viking Lander sites ] with its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer [ http://mars.compuserve.com/mpf/sci_desc.html#APXS ]. Its next destination will be a tantalizing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] rock about 1 foot away that scientists have named "Barnacle Bill". A slow but steady off-road vehicle powered by a 1.9 square foot solar array, the rover can [ http://mars.compuserve.com/rover/sojourner.html ] negotiate obstacles tilted at a 45 degree angle and travels at less than half an inch per second or nearly 0.03 miles per hour.
Mars: Twin Peaks In Stereo C …
Title Mars: Twin Peaks In Stereo Credit: IMP Team [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/imp/new.team.html ] JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ]
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://img.arc.nasa.gov/archive/desert96/redblue.html ] and gaze across the surface of Mars [ http://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/ ] in stereo. You are looking south of west across an ancient flood channel [ http://members.aol.com/space7/exper.html ], Ares Vallis, landing site [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/landingsite.html ] of the Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.sgi.com/default.html ]. A rover deployment ramp and lander petal [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/education/cutouts.html ] define the foreground in this 3D-view while a field of rocks seems to stretch to the horizon. At the upper right, over half a mile distant, are the hills known as the "Twin Peaks". Today [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/ ] is Sol [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970706.html ] 10, the tenth day the Pathfinder [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970705.html ] lander and Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ] rover have been operating on the martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ]. Over that period, the mission has been returning a wealth of images and data [ http://mars.sgi.com/default.html ]. The otherwise successful rover activities [ http://mars.sgi.com/ops/rover.html ] have been recently hampered [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/pf970713.html ] by some communication and computer difficulties.
Barnacle Bill And Sojourner
Title Barnacle Bill And Sojourner
Explanation Deployed on a pop-up mast [ http://imp.lpl.arizona.edu/mars/ ] to its full height, the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://mars.compuserve.com/default.html ]'s IMP camera now stands about 5 feet above the surface of Ares Vallis - on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ]. This is one of the first images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/img/81094.txt ] from its new vantage point, showing the rover Sojourner near a rock named Barnacle Bill. This particularly interesting rock, with a variety of surface textures, appears to be about 8 to 10 inches high. Sojourner performed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ] an analysis of Barnacle Bill by successfuly maneuvering to place its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer [ http://mars.compuserve.com/mpf/sci_desc.html#APXS ] (APXS) instrument against the rock. The APXS, located at the rear of the rover, is not visible in this picture. Sojourner's next destination is ... a rock named Yogi. Results describing the composition of Barnacle Bill, the martian soil and a color panorama of the landing site will be presented at a Pathfinder press briefing [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/ ] today scheduled for 11:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time.
Mars: A Journey's End
Title Mars: A Journey's End
Explanation Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.sgi.com/index.html ] is nearing the end of its 7 month journey. The robot spacecraft is scheduled to use parachutes, rockets, and airbags [ http://mpfwww.arc.nasa.gov/mpf/edl/edl1.html ] to "bouncedown" on the red planet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] tomorrow - July 4th [ http://www.csusm.edu/A_S/History/docs/decind.html ]. This Hubble Space Telescope image of Mars [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/23/a.html ] was taken a few days ago to check on the weather. The pathfinder landing site [ http://mars.sgi.com/mpf/landing.html ], on the ancient floodplain Ares Vallis, is just right of center - 500 miles southeast of where Viking 1 landed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960720.html ] in 1976. Along with the martian north polar cap [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/97/15/B.html ], some water ice clouds are visible in both the northern and southern hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ]. About 600 miles south of the landing site a dust storm can be seen as a brownish ribbon stretching through the the Valles Marineris, a continent sized canyon system. Fortunately, the dust storm is not expected to seriously affect operations at the landing site.
Mars Rocks, Sojourner Rolls
Title Mars Rocks, Sojourner Rolls
Explanation This sharp color image [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/sol19-20.html ] featuring Mars rock Yogi [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970716.html ] and the rolling Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ] robot shows off Yogi's startling two-toned surface. Yogi appears to be leaning into the prevailing winds causing some to suggest that its color contrast may be caused by the accumulation of rust colored dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970804.html ] on its windward face. The Pathfinder spacecraft [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/mission.html ], now the Sagan Memorial Station, has ended the primary mission phase after returning a scientific bonanza [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/science.html ] from the surface of Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970628.html ]. The Sojourner robot has now traveled 171 feet on the martian surface, circumnavigated the lander, and also produced a wealth of data and images [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/rover.html ]. Entering the extended mission phase of operations, controllers will concentrate on conserving battery power while continuing to explore [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] the red planet [ http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~cerebus/mars/index.html ].
A Martian Sunset
Title A Martian Sunset
Explanation You've had a hard day rolling past Martian rocks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970722.html ], so now just relax your APXS [ http://mars.sgi.com/mpf/sci_desc.html#APXS ] and enjoy the Martian sunset. The above pictures [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/sol20-21.html ] taken by Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default1.html ] highlight how clouds vary during the end of a Martian day. The atmosphere on Mars [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/faq/climate_study.html ] is much thinner than on Earth [ http://pegasus.phast.umass.edu/a100/handouts/earthatm/earthatm.html ] and dominated by carbon dioxide [ http://hydrolab.arsusda.gov/csl/bsum.html ] rather than nitrogen [ http://cst.lanl.gov/CST/imagemap/periodic/7.html ]. Clouds on Mars [ http://marswatch.tn.cornell.edu/jgr_co2.html ] can be water [ http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196kargelbox2.html ] or carbon dioxide based, depending on conditions [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/marscld.htm ], whereas Earth's clouds are all water based. At night the temperature [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/mars/pathfinder.html ] at Sagan Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ] will dip from about -15 degrees Celsius [ http://144.26.13.41/phyhist/celsius.htm ] (+4 Fahrenheit) to -77 degrees Celsius (-107 Fahrenheit). Temperatures [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/asimet.html ] only this cold won't bother Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ].
A Dust Devil Crater on Mars
Title A Dust Devil Crater on Mars
Explanation What caused the streaks in this Martian crater? Since the above image [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/12/02/index.html ] shows streaks occurring both inside and outside the crater, they were surely created "after" the crater-causing impact. Newly formed [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/7_30_98_devil_rel/ ] trails like these presented researchers with a tantalizing martian mystery but have now been identified as likely the work of miniature wind vortices [ http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/honors/student/tornado/spouts.htm ] known to occur on the red planet [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] - martian dust devils [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/7_1_99_devils/ ]. Another example of wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000202.html ] processes on [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/atmospheric.html ] an active Mars, dust devils [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~lemmon/impMPF/ ] had been detected passing near the Viking and Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] landers. Such spinning columns of rising air heated by the warm surface are common in dry and desert areas on planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000303.html ]. Typically lasting only a few minutes, they becoming visible as they pick up loose dust. On Mars [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology_mars.html ], dust devils [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/8_10_99_releases/moc2_171/ index.html ] can be up to 8 kilometers high [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/8_10_99_releases/moc2_171/ moc2_171d_msss.jpg ] and leave dark trails as they disturb the bright, reflective surface dust.
Half Dome Rock on Mars
Title Half Dome Rock on Mars
Explanation Who ordered the Martian pizza? As Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default1.html ] and its mobile robot Sojourner [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/rover/sojourner.html ] continue to explore [ http://mars.sgi.com/default.html ] Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ], new and interesting rocks are being discovered, even though the primary mission [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/pfprime.html ] has been successfully completed. The rock [ http://eis.jpl.nasa.gov/~skientz/little_rock/ ] pictured above [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/sol71.html ] has been dubbed "Half Dome" and was visited by Sojourner in late August. The shape and fine-scale textures of Half Dome are still being studied. As part of the extended mission, Sojourner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970814.html ] has been sent on its longest journey yet [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/pfextend.html ] - a 50 meter stroll around the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ].
Ice Clouds over Mars
Title Ice Clouds over Mars
Explanation Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ] has clouds too. The above true color image [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/sol45-46.html ] taken in August by Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] shows clouds of ice high in the Martian atmosphere [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/faq/climate_study.html ]. Unlike Earth's atmosphere [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/atmosphere.html ] which is composed predominantly of nitrogen [ http://cst.lanl.gov/CST/imagemap/periodic/7.html ] and oxygen [ http://cst.lanl.gov/CST/imagemap/periodic/8.html ], Mars' atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide [ http://hydrolab.arsusda.gov/csl/bsum.html ]. Nevertheless, a trace amount of water [ http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196kargelbox2.html ] does freeze into visible clouds [ http://marswatch.tn.cornell.edu/jgr_co2.html ] at night, which become particularly apparent during the day by reflection of sunlight. Contact was lost [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] with Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default1.html ] last Sunday but re-established later in the week.
Yogi Rock on Mars
Title Yogi Rock on Mars
Explanation Yogi [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980309.html ap970711.html ] is possibly the best photographed rock on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ]. By combining many pictures taken during the Mars Pathfinder Mission [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] last year, scientists were able to create a super-resolution, digitally enhanced image [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/high-res.html ] that better allows them to study Yogi [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970716.html ]'s surface and more accurately determine [ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/278/5344/1743 ] how Yogi was formed. The smoothness of some Martian rocks suggests previous interactions with water [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/papers.html ], implying that Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ] was both warmer and wetter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980205.html ] in the past.
At Work on Mars
Title At Work on Mars
Explanation To learn about the history ofMars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ], just ask the rocks. Last year, that's exactly what the robot rover Sojourner [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/rover/sojourner.html ] did. Sojouner [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/rover/mission.html ] can be seen, above, analyzing a rock nicknamed Moe, trying to discern its past. One significant discovery [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/science/science-index.html ] of the Mars Pathfinder mission [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] was that of conglomerate rocks, indicating [ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/278/5344/1743 ] the presence of running water in the past. Such water, in turn, indicates that Mars was much more like watery Earth in the distant past [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/science/press_conference1.html ]. Visible in the foreground of this color-enhanced mosaic [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ops/photojournal.html ] is part of the Sagan [ http://www.sciam.com/explorations/010697sagan/010697explorations.html ] Memorial Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970710.html ], while a hill nicknamed one of the "Twin Peaks" is visible [ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/278/5344/1734 ] about a kilometer in the distance.
A Landing On Mars
Title A Landing On Mars
Explanation On July 4th [ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ ], 1997 - using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and airbags - the Mars Pathfinder [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/default.html ] spacecraft successfully came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. Ninety minutes before reaching the surface Pathfinder [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/stamp.html ] began a flurry [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/timeline.html ] of activity. The robot spacecraft [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/index1.html ] vented cooling fluid, jettisoned its cruise stage, decelerated at 20 gees on atmospheric entry, deployed a 24 foot parachute, jettisoned its heat shield, slid down a 60 foot bridle, fired solid fuel braking rockets, deployed a cocoon of airbags, separated from the bridle, impacted the martian surface, bounced a few times (traveling about 300 - 600 feet between bounces), settled on the surface, deflated the airbags, and righted itself, all under the autonomous control of the onboard computer. Above is a mosaic of images transmitted shortly after Pathfinder reestablished communication with its operators on Earth. The solar powered, two foot long, 25 pound Mars Sojourner [ http://eis.jpl.nasa.gov/~skientz/rover_letters/ ] robot rover [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/rover-ops.html ] is visible crouched on the unfolded spacecraft. Beyond lie deflated airbags, rock-strewn [ http://eis.jpl.nasa.gov/~skientz/little_rock/ ] terrain [ http://eis.jpl.nasa.gov/~skientz/little_rock/update.html ], distant hills, and a dusty brown martian [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] sky.
Improved MPF 360-degree Colo …
title Improved MPF 360-degree Color Panorama
Description Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator., This is a more recent 'geometrically improved, color enhanced' version of the 360-degree 'Gallery Pan', the first contiguous, uniform panorama taken by the Imager for Mars (IMP) over the course of Sols 8, 9, and 10. Different regions were imaged at different times over the three Martian days to acquire consistent lighting and shadow conditions for all areas of the panorama. In this version of the panorama, much of the discontinuity that was due to parallax has been corrected, particularly along the lower tiers of the mosaic containing the Lander features. Distortion due to a 2.5 degree tilt in the IMP camera mast has been removed. The IMP is a stereo imaging system that, in its fully deployed configuration, stands 1.8 meters above the Martian surface, and has a resolution of two millimeters at a range of two meters. The IMP has color capability provided by 24 selectable filters -- twelve filters per 'eye'. Its red, green, and blue filters were used to take this panorama. The three color images were first digitally balanced according to the transmittance capabilities of a specific high-definition TV device at JPL, and then enhanced via changes to saturation and intensity while retaining the hue. A threshold was applied to avoid changes to the sky. An MTF filter was applied to sharpen feature edges. At left is a Lander petal and a metallic mast which is a portion of the low-gain antenna. On the horizon the double 'Twin Peaks' are visible, about 1-2 kilometers away. The rock 'Couch' is the dark, curved rock at right of Twin Peaks. Another Lander petal is at left-center, showing the fully deployed forward ramp at far left, and rear ramp at right, which rover Sojourner used to descend to the surface of Mars on July 5. Immediately to the left of the rear ramp is the rock 'Barnacle Bill', which scientists found be andesitic, possibly indicating that it is a volcanic rock (a true andesite) or a physical mixture of particles. Just beyond Barnacle Bill, rover tracks lead to Sojourner, shown using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study the large rock 'Yogi'. Yogi, low in quartz content, appears to be more primitive than Barnacle Bill, and appears more like the common basalts found on Earth. The tracks and circular pattern in the soil leading up to Yogi were part of Sojourner's soil mechanics experiments, in which varying amounts of pressure were applied to the wheels in order to determine physical properties of the soil. During its traverse to Yogi the rover stirred the soil and exposed material from several centimeters in depth. During one of the turns to deploy Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer, the wheels dug particularly deeply and exposed white material. Spectra of this white material show it is virtually identical to the rock 'Scooby Doo', and such white material may underlie much of the site. Deflated airbags are visible at the perimeter of all three Lander petals. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's
Mars Pathfinder "Filled Donu …
title Mars Pathfinder "Filled Donut" Mosaic
Description This image is a product of 3 data sets: * a color mosaic image of the "Gallery Panorama", * an image which indicates the distance to the nearest object at each pixel location, referred to as a range image, and * a digital image of a full-scale museum model of the MPF Lander. The Gallery Pan image and the range image were projected onto a continuous cylindrical/perspective coordinate system spanning 360 degrees of azimuth. The range image was then treated as a displacement map with respect to a sphere's surface, and the color image mosaic was draped onto the inside of the sphere so that lines of constant azimuth radiate from the center and lines of constant elevation are concentric circles. The position of the camera is fixed at the sphere's center, while its viewing direction is in this case looking at the south pole of the sphere. This projection preserves the resolution of the original panorama. The distortion visible near the edges of this image is due to the large field of view, as well as the limitation introduced by using cylindrically-projected images on the sphere - the effects of which are less apparent when smaller fields of view are used. The center of the image consists of the museum model image, which has been geometrically warped to spatially register with the projected Gallery Pan data. The position of the camera was fixed above the model so that the IMP Mast was roughly at Nadir. The image has been rotated so that the main points of interest, which are the "Rock Garden", the rover Sojourner and the rock "Yogi", are visible arching across the upper hemisphere. In fixed Mars Surface coordinates, the top of the image looks out towards a point a few degrees north of West. Color has been enhanced to improve contrast in features, and is derived from IMP spectral filters 5, 9 and 0.
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Yogi and rover tracks
PIA00663
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Yogi and rover tracks
Original Caption Released with Image Taken from Sojourner's front stereo camera, this image features the large rock Yogi and hole dug by the front wheel of the rover into the Martian soil. The rover is maneuvering into a position better suited to image Yogi's intriguing features. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
360 degree b/w "Monster Pan
PIA00662
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title 360 degree b/w "Monster Pan
Original Caption Released with Image This 360 degree "monster" panorama was taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. All three petals, the perimeter of the deflated airbags, deployed rover Sojourner, forward and backward ramps and prominent surface features are visible. The IMP stands 1.8 meters over the Martian surface. The curvature and misalignment of several sections are due to image parallax. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Portion of 360-degree color …
PIA00656
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Portion of 360-degree color panorama
Original Caption Released with Image This image represents the first two tiers of a 360- degree color panorama, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The metallic object at far lower left is a portion of the lander's low-gain antenna. At left, the forward ramp is visible near the larger rocks dubbed Wedge, Flat Top, and Half-Dome. The magenta and yellow strips near the center represent portions of missing data. Rover Sojourner is situated on the soil after its successful deployment on Sol 5. To its immediate left is the rock dubbed "Barnacle Bill," and in front of it lies the larger rock dubbed "Yogi." Two additional areas of deflated airbags are at the right-center and right of the panorama. The mast and windsocks at far right is the Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package (ASI/MET). Their upward position indicates little air movement. A shadow of the ASI/MET has been cast upon a rock just in front of it, indicating sunlight is coming from the rear right. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Sojourner, Barnacle Bill, & …
PIA00660
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Sojourner, Barnacle Bill, & Yogi
Original Caption Released with Image This view taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was taken on Sol 3. Barnacle Bill, the small rock at left, and Yogi, the large rock at upper right, have been examined by Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument and the rover's cameras. Barnacle Bill has the chemical composition of an andesitic volcanic rock, but may have been produced by sedimentation processes or meteorite impact. The lander's rear ramp which Sojourner used to descend to the Martian surface is at lower left, and a portion of deflated airbag is at lower right. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Sojourner's APXS at work
PIA00646
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Sojourner's APXS at work
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The rover Sojourner has traveled to an area of soil and several rocks. Its tracks are clearly visible in the soft soil seen in the foreground, and were made in part by the rover's material abrasion experiment. Scientists were able to control the force of the rover's cleated wheels to help determine the physical properties of the soil. In this image, Sojourner is using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study an area of soil. Sunlight is striking the area from the left, creating shadows under Sojourner and at the right of local rocks. The large rock Yogi can be seen at upper right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Lower portions of Yogi & rov …
PIA00643
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Lower portions of Yogi & rover wheel
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by a camera aboard the Sojourner rover on Sol 4. The large rock Yogi can be seen at the upper right portion of the image. Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument is currently studying the sand around Yogi, and may study Yogi itself later on. One of Sojourner's cleated wheels is visible at lower right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Lower portions of Yogi
PIA00642
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Lower portions of Yogi
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by a camera aboard the Sojourner rover on Sol 4. The large rock Yogi can be seen at the upper right portion of the image. Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument is currently studying the sand around Yogi, and may study Yogi itself later on. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
ASI/MET shadow & airbags
PIA00654
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title ASI/MET shadow & airbags
Original Caption Released with Image A shadow of the Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package (ASI/MET) has been cast on a rock at right in this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The instrument appears in two different sections due to image parallax. The ASI/MET is an engineering subsytem that acquired atmospheric data during Pathfinder's descent, and will continue to get more data through the entire landed mission. Portions of a lander petal and deflated airbag are visible, in addition to several rocks of varying sizes in the distance. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Yogi & local soil
PIA00650
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Yogi & local soil
Original Caption Released with Image Portions of the rock dubbed "Yogi" are at the top of this color image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder on Sol 4. The light areas of soil directly below Yogi may be composed of salts. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Deflated airbags & terrain
PIA00652
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Deflated airbags & terrain
Original Caption Released with Image An area of Pathfinder's deflated airbags is visible in this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The lighter areas of soil may be partially composed of salts. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
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