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Mars 2003 Rover
This artist's rendering show
…
7/27/00
| Date |
7/27/00 |
| Description |
This artist's rendering shows a view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as it sets off roam the surface of the red planet. The rover is scheduled for launch in June 2003 and will arrive in January 2004, shielded in its landing by an airbag shell. The airbag/lander structure, which has no scientific instruments of its own, is shown to the right in this image, behind the rover. The rover will carry five scientific instruments and rock abrading device. The Panoramic Camera and the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer are located on the large mast shown on the front of the rover. The camera will be supplied by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the spectrometer will be supplied by Arizona State University in Tempe. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. The Rock Abrasion Tool is located on a robotic arm that can be deployed to study rocks and soil.(In this view, the robotic arm is tucked under the front of the rover.) The tool, provided by Honeybee Robotics Ltd., New York, N.Y., will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks, which may be dusty and weathered, allowing the science instruments to determine the nature of rock interiors. The three instruments that will study the abraded rocks are a Mossbauer Spectrometer, provided by the Johannes Gutenberg- University Mainz, Germany, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer provided by Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, also in Mainz, Germany, and a Microscopic Imager, supplied by JPL. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. In a landing similar to that of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, a parachute will deploy to slow the spacecraft down and airbags will inflate to cushion the landing. Petals of the landing structure will unfold to release the rover, which will drive off to begin its exploration. JPL manages the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload. ##### |
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Mars 2003 Rover
This artist's rendering show
…
7/27/00
| Date |
7/27/00 |
| Description |
This artist's rendering shows a side view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as it sets off on its exploration of the red planet. The rover is scheduled for launch in June 2003 and will arrive at Mars in January 2004 with an airbag-shielded landing shell. The Mars 2003 Rover will carry five scientific instruments and a rock abrading tool. The instruments include a Panoramic Camera and a Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, both on the large mast shown on the front of the rover. A Mossbauer Spectrometer, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer, and a Microscopic Imager are located on a robotic arm that is tucked under the front of the rover, as is a Rock Abrasion Tool that will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks to determine the nature of rock interiors. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload. ##### |
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A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
| title |
A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus |
| date |
11.23.2005 |
| description |
This false-color view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652 through 663 Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of Erebus Crater. The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell |
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'McMurdo' Panorama from Spir
…
| title |
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven' |
| description |
This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented in approximately true color. Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past, six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere. |
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2003 Rover
| title |
2003 Rover |
| Description |
This artist's rendering shows a view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as it sets off roam the surface of the red planet. The rover is scheduled for launch in June 2003 and will arrive in January 2004, shielded in its landing by an airbag shell. The airbag/lander structure, which has no scientific instruments of its own, is shown to the right in this image, behind the rover. The rover will carry five scientific instruments and rock abrading device. The Panoramic Camera and the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer are located on the large mast shown on the front of the rover. The camera will be supplied by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the spectrometer will be supplied by Arizona State University in Tempe. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. The Rock Abrasion Tool is located on a robotic arm that can be deployed to study rocks and soil.(In this view, the robotic arm is tucked under the front of the rover.) The tool, provided by Honeybee Robotics Ltd., New York, N.Y., will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks, which may be dusty and weathered, allowing the science instruments to determine the nature of rock interiors. The three instruments that will study the abraded rocks are a Mossbauer Spectrometer, provided by the Johannes Gutenberg- University Mainz, Germany, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer provided by Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, also in Mainz, Germany, and a Microscopic Imager, supplied by JPL. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. In a landing similar to that of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, a parachute will deploy to slow the spacecraft down and airbags will inflate to cushion the landing. Petals of the landing structure will unfold to release the rover, which will drive off to begin its exploration. JPL manages the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload. |
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| Description |
Browse Image | Medium Image (129 kB) | Large (20.4 MB) Hi-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal) [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08813 ] |
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'Algonquin' Outcrop on Spiri
…
PIA03614
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
'Algonquin' Outcrop on Spirit's Sol 680 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view combines four frames from Spirit's panoramic camera, looking in the drive direction on the rover's 680th Martian day, or sol (Dec. 1, 2005). The outcrop of apparently layered bedrock has the informal name "Algonquin." |
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Erebus Panorama in Stereo
PIA03695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Erebus Panorama in Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Left-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters This stereo view shows the landscape surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the edge of "Erebus Crater" while the rover's panoramic camera captured frames for a full-circle panorama on Opportunity's sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ). The scene includes finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow crater. The full panorama, including more of the rover deck than shown here, is at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 ]. This image appears three dimensional when viewed through red and blue glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. Both the left and right images were taken through blue filters. The view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection. |
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Erebus Panorama in Stereo
PIA03695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Erebus Panorama in Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Left-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters This stereo view shows the landscape surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the edge of "Erebus Crater" while the rover's panoramic camera captured frames for a full-circle panorama on Opportunity's sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ). The scene includes finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow crater. The full panorama, including more of the rover deck than shown here, is at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 ]. This image appears three dimensional when viewed through red and blue glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. Both the left and right images were taken through blue filters. The view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection. |
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Erebus Panorama in Stereo
PIA03695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Erebus Panorama in Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Left-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters This stereo view shows the landscape surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the edge of "Erebus Crater" while the rover's panoramic camera captured frames for a full-circle panorama on Opportunity's sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ). The scene includes finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow crater. The full panorama, including more of the rover deck than shown here, is at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 ]. This image appears three dimensional when viewed through red and blue glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. Both the left and right images were taken through blue filters. The view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection. |
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Erebus Panorama in Stereo
PIA03695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Erebus Panorama in Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Left-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters This stereo view shows the landscape surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the edge of "Erebus Crater" while the rover's panoramic camera captured frames for a full-circle panorama on Opportunity's sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ). The scene includes finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow crater. The full panorama, including more of the rover deck than shown here, is at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 ]. This image appears three dimensional when viewed through red and blue glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. Both the left and right images were taken through blue filters. The view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection. |
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Erebus Panorama in Stereo
PIA03695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Erebus Panorama in Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a color stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Left-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's left lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters Right-eye member of a stereo pair taken through the camera's right lens using 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters This stereo view shows the landscape surrounding NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the edge of "Erebus Crater" while the rover's panoramic camera captured frames for a full-circle panorama on Opportunity's sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ). The scene includes finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow crater. The full panorama, including more of the rover deck than shown here, is at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03270 ]. This image appears three dimensional when viewed through red and blue glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. Both the left and right images were taken through blue filters. The view is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection. |
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Duck Bay, Victoria Crater
PIA10007
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Duck Bay, Victoria Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the view of Victoria Crater from Duck Bay. Opportunity reached Victoria Crater on Sol 951 (September 27, 2006) after traversing 9.28 kilometers (5.77 miles) since her landing site at Eagle Crater. Victoria Crater is roughly 800 meters (one-half mile) wide -- about five times wider than Endurance Crater, and 40 times as wide as Eagle crater. The south face of the 6 meter (20 foot) tall layered Cape Verde promontory can be seen in the left side of the inner crater wall, about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover at the time of the imaging. The north face of the 15 meter (50 foot) tall stack of layered rocks called Cabo Frio can be seen on the right side of the inner crater wall. This mosaic was taken on Sols 952 and 953 (September 28 and 29, 2006). There are 30 separate pointings through 6 different filters at each pointing. This mosaic was generated from Pancam's 753 nm, 535 nm, and 482 nm filters. Four versions are available at full resolution: this approximate true color rendering, a false color [ http://marswatch.astro.cornell.edu/pancam_instrument/duck_bay.html ] stretch to enhance subtle color differences in the scene, a stereo anaglyph [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08784 ], which appears three dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ], and a black and white version presented as a cylindrical projection [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08783 ] with geometric seam correction. |
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Opportunity's Heat Shield Sc
…
PIA07401
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity's Heat Shield Scene |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity reveals the scene of the rover's heat shield impact. In this view, Opportunity is approximately 130 meters (427 feet) away from the device that protected it while hurtling through the martian atmosphere. The rover spent 36 sols investigating how the severe heating during entry through the atmosphere affected the heat shield. The most obvious is the fact that the heat shield inverted upon impact. This is the panoramic camera team's best current attempt at generating a true-color view of what this scene would look like if viewed by a human on Mars. It was generated from a mathematical combination of six calibrated, left-eye panoramic camera images acquired around 1:50 p.m. local solar time on Opportunity's sol 322 (Dec. 19, 2004) using filters ranging in wavelengths from 430 to 750 nanometers. |
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Tantalizing 'Tipuna'
PIA07101
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Tantalizing 'Tipuna' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
On the way out of "Endurance Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been making observations along the crater wall, an intriguing and revealing geological path. One factor that immediately caught the eyes of scientists was a noticeable difference between light rocks and dark rocks along the crater rim. The pictured rock, "Tipuna," lies just under the dividing line, in the dark section. Opportunity's panoramic camera took this image during the rover's 306th martian day, or sol (Dec. 3, 2004). The image gives an up-close view of Tipuna, revealing complex layering that was likely caused by ancient flowing water or wind deposition. Scientists have used the rover's rock abrasion tool to expose interior material for analysis on both dark and light rocks near Tipuna. |
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Opportunity's Heat Shield in
…
PIA07223
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity's Heat Shield in Color, Sol 325 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows remains of the heat shield that protected the spacecraft as it barreled through the martian atmosphere. The image was taken on the rover's 325th martian day, or sol, (Dec. 22, 2004). The picture features the main heat shield debris when Opportunity was approximately 40 meters (about 131 feet) away from it. Many rover-team engineers were taken aback when they realized the heat shield had inverted, or turned itself inside out. The height of the pictured debris is about 1.3 meters (about 4.3 feet). The original diameter was 2.65 meters (8.7 feet), though it has obviously been deformed. The fact that the heat shield is now inside out makes it more challenging to evaluate the state of the thermal protection system that is now on the inside. In coming sols, Opportunity will investigate the debris with its microscopic imager. Engineers who designed and built the heat shield are thrilled to see the hardware on the surface of Mars. This provides a unique opportunity to look at how the thermal protection system material survived the actual Mars entry. Team members hope this information will allow them to compare their predictions to what really happened. The image is an approximately true-color rendering generated using the panoramic camera's 600, 530 and 480 nanometer filters. |
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Spirit View of 'Wishstone' (
…
PIA07191
Sol (our sun)
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectro
…
| Title |
Spirit View of 'Wishstone' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 Scientists working with NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit decided to examine this rock, dubbed "Wishstone," based on data from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. That instrument's data indicated that the mineralogy of the rocks in this area is different from that of rocks encountered either on the plains of Gusev Crater or in bedrock outcrops examined so far in the "Columbia Hills" inside the crater. Spirit used its rock abrasion tool first to scour a patch of the rock's surface with a wire brush, then to grind away the surface to reveal interior material. Placement of the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the exposed circle of interior material revealed that the rock is rich in phosphorus. Spirit used its panoramic camera during the rover's 342nd martian day, or sol, (Dec. 18, 2004) to take the three individual images that were combined to produce this false-color view emphasizing the freshly ground dust around the hole cut by the rock abrasion tool. "Unusually Rich in Phosophorus" The graph in figure 1 compares the elemental makeup of a rock dubbed "Wishstone" with the average composition of rocks that Spirit examined on the western spur of the "Columbia Hills." Wishstone lies farther into the hills than that spur. It is richer in phosphorus than any other Mars rock ever examined. Scientists plan to examine other rocks near Wishstone to help explain the significance of the high phosphorus concentration. The vertical scale is the ratio of the concentration of an element in the hills rocks to the concentration of the same element in a typical volcanic rock from the plains that Spirit crossed to reach the hills. |
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Spirit View of 'Wishstone' (
…
PIA07191
Sol (our sun)
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectro
…
| Title |
Spirit View of 'Wishstone' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 Scientists working with NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit decided to examine this rock, dubbed "Wishstone," based on data from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. That instrument's data indicated that the mineralogy of the rocks in this area is different from that of rocks encountered either on the plains of Gusev Crater or in bedrock outcrops examined so far in the "Columbia Hills" inside the crater. Spirit used its rock abrasion tool first to scour a patch of the rock's surface with a wire brush, then to grind away the surface to reveal interior material. Placement of the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the exposed circle of interior material revealed that the rock is rich in phosphorus. Spirit used its panoramic camera during the rover's 342nd martian day, or sol, (Dec. 18, 2004) to take the three individual images that were combined to produce this false-color view emphasizing the freshly ground dust around the hole cut by the rock abrasion tool. "Unusually Rich in Phosophorus" The graph in figure 1 compares the elemental makeup of a rock dubbed "Wishstone" with the average composition of rocks that Spirit examined on the western spur of the "Columbia Hills." Wishstone lies farther into the hills than that spur. It is richer in phosphorus than any other Mars rock ever examined. Scientists plan to examine other rocks near Wishstone to help explain the significance of the high phosphorus concentration. The vertical scale is the ratio of the concentration of an element in the hills rocks to the concentration of the same element in a typical volcanic rock from the plains that Spirit crossed to reach the hills. |
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Opportunity Self-Portrait, S
…
PIA07372
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity Self-Portrait, Sols 322-323 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to take the images combined into this mosaic view of the rover. The downward-looking view omits the mast on which the camera is mounted. It shows Opportunity's solar panels to be relatively dust-free. The images were taken through the camera's 600-, 530- and 480-nanometer filters during Opportunity's 322nd and 323rd martian days, or sols (Dec. 19 and 20, 2004). |
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Spirit Self-Portrait, Sols 3
…
PIA07371
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Spirit Self-Portrait, Sols 329-330 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its panoramic camera to take the images combined into this mosaic view of the rover. The downward-looking view omits the mast on which the camera is mounted. It shows dust accumulation on Spirit's solar panels. The images were taken through the camera's 600-, 530- and 480-nanometer filters during Spirit's 329th and 330th martian days, or sols (Dec. 7 and 8, 2004). |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (
…
PIA09103
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). It is presented in false color to emphasize differences among materials in the rocks and soils. |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde'
PIA09104
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This approximately true-color view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). |
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Still Giving Thanks for Good
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PIA07334
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Still Giving Thanks for Good Health |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for Still Giving Thanks for Good Health (QTVR) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this full-circle panorama of the region near "Husband Hill" (the peak just to the left of center) over the Thanksgiving holiday, before ascending farther. Both the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are still going strong, more than a year after landing on Mars. This 360-degree view combines 243 images taken by Spirit's panoramic camera over several martian days, or sols, from sol 318 (Nov. 24, 2004) to sol 325 (Dec. 2, 2004). It is an approximately true-color rendering generated from images taken through the camera's 750-, 530-, and 480-nanometer filters. The view is presented here in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit is now driving up the slope of Husband Hill along a path about one-quarter of the way from the left side of this mosaic. |
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Still Giving Thanks for Good
…
PIA07334
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Still Giving Thanks for Good Health |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for Still Giving Thanks for Good Health (QTVR) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this full-circle panorama of the region near "Husband Hill" (the peak just to the left of center) over the Thanksgiving holiday, before ascending farther. Both the Spirit and Opportunity rovers are still going strong, more than a year after landing on Mars. This 360-degree view combines 243 images taken by Spirit's panoramic camera over several martian days, or sols, from sol 318 (Nov. 24, 2004) to sol 325 (Dec. 2, 2004). It is an approximately true-color rendering generated from images taken through the camera's 750-, 530-, and 480-nanometer filters. The view is presented here in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit is now driving up the slope of Husband Hill along a path about one-quarter of the way from the left side of this mosaic. |
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Impressive Impact
PIA07327
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
| Title |
Impressive Impact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for Impressive Impact (QTVR) This stunning image features the heat shield impact site of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This is an approximately true-color mosaic of panoramic camera images taken through the camera's 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters. The mosaic was acquired on Opportunity's sol 330 (Dec. 28, 2004), shortly after Opportunity arrived to investigate the site where its heat shield hit the ground south of "Endurance Crater" on Jan. 24, 2004. On the left, the main heat shield piece is inverted and reveals its metallic insulation layer, glinting in the sunlight. The main piece stands about 1 meter tall (about 3.3 feet) and about 13 meters (about 43 feet) from the rover. The other large, flat piece of debris near the center of the image is about 14 meters (about 46 feet) away. The circular feature on the right side of the image is the crater made by the heat shield's impact. It is about 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) in diameter but only about 5 to 10 centimeters (about 2 to 4 inches) deep. The crater is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) from Opportunity in this view. Smaller fragments and debris can be seen all around the impact site. The impact excavated a large amount of reddish subsurface material. Darker materials cover part of the crater's flat floor and have formed a streak or jet of material pointing toward the two largest heat shield fragments. |
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Impressive Impact
PIA07327
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
| Title |
Impressive Impact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for Impressive Impact (QTVR) This stunning image features the heat shield impact site of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This is an approximately true-color mosaic of panoramic camera images taken through the camera's 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters. The mosaic was acquired on Opportunity's sol 330 (Dec. 28, 2004), shortly after Opportunity arrived to investigate the site where its heat shield hit the ground south of "Endurance Crater" on Jan. 24, 2004. On the left, the main heat shield piece is inverted and reveals its metallic insulation layer, glinting in the sunlight. The main piece stands about 1 meter tall (about 3.3 feet) and about 13 meters (about 43 feet) from the rover. The other large, flat piece of debris near the center of the image is about 14 meters (about 46 feet) away. The circular feature on the right side of the image is the crater made by the heat shield's impact. It is about 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) in diameter but only about 5 to 10 centimeters (about 2 to 4 inches) deep. The crater is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) from Opportunity in this view. Smaller fragments and debris can be seen all around the impact site. The impact excavated a large amount of reddish subsurface material. Darker materials cover part of the crater's flat floor and have formed a streak or jet of material pointing toward the two largest heat shield fragments. |
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Rolling into Victoria Crater
…
PIA09688
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Rolling into Victoria Crater (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a simulated rover descending into Victoria Crater via the rock-paved slopes of an alcove informally named "Duck Bay." NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is expected to make a similar drive in early July 2007, on its way to examine older rocks deeper in the crater that might hold clues to Mars' wet past. The actual rover travels much more slowly and will make the trip in short segments, rather than in one long drive. Duck Bay has slopes of about 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock, making it the safest site for Opportunity to enter the crater. This movie is based on data taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Rolling into Victoria Crater
…
PIA09688
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Rolling into Victoria Crater (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a simulated rover descending into Victoria Crater via the rock-paved slopes of an alcove informally named "Duck Bay." NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is expected to make a similar drive in early July 2007, on its way to examine older rocks deeper in the crater that might hold clues to Mars' wet past. The actual rover travels much more slowly and will make the trip in short segments, rather than in one long drive. Duck Bay has slopes of about 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock, making it the safest site for Opportunity to enter the crater. This movie is based on data taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Surveying the Scene Above Op
…
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Surveying the Scene Above Op
…
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Martian Surface at an Angle
PIA05015
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Martian Surface at an Angle |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This latest color "postcard from Mars," taken on Sol 5 by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, looks to the north. The apparent slope of the horizon is due to the several-degree tilt of the lander deck. On the left, the circular topographic feature dubbed Sleepy Hollow can be seen along with dark markings that may be surface disturbances caused by the airbag-encased lander as it bounced and rolled to rest. A dust-coated airbag is prominent in the foreground, and a dune-like object that has piqued the interest of the science team with its dark, possibly armored top coating, can be seen on the right. |
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Summit Panorama with Rover D
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PIA03610
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Summit Panorama with Rover Deck |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
" Click on the image for Summit Panorama with Rover (QTVR) The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the hundreds of images combined into this 360-degree view, the "Husband Hill Summit" panorama. The images were acquired on Spirit's sols 583 to 586 (Aug. 24 to 27, 2005), shortly after the rover reached the crest of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. This is the largest panorama yet acquired from either Spirit or Opportunity. The panoramic camera shot 653 separate images in 6 different filters, encompassing the rover's deck and the full 360 degrees of surface rocks and soils visible to the camera from this position. This is the first time the camera has been used to image the entire rover deck and visible surface from the same position. Stitching together of all the images took significant effort because of the large changes in resolution and parallax across the scene. The image is an approximately true-color rendering using the 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the surface, and the 600-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the rover deck. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. This panorama provided the team's first view of the "Inner Basin" region (center of the image), including the enigmatic "Home Plate" feature seen from orbital data. After investigating the summit area, Spirit drove downhill to get to the Inner Basin region. Spirit arrived at the summit from the west, along the direction of the rover tracks seen in the middle right of the panorama. The peaks of "McCool Hill" and "Ramon Hill" can be seen on the horizon near the center of the panorama. The summit region itself is a broad, windswept plateau. Spirit spent more than a month exploring the summit region, measuring the chemistry and mineralogy of soils and rocky outcrops at the peak of Husband Hill for comparison with similar measurements obtained during the ascent. |
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Summit Panorama with Rover D
…
PIA03610
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Summit Panorama with Rover Deck |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
" Click on the image for Summit Panorama with Rover (QTVR) The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the hundreds of images combined into this 360-degree view, the "Husband Hill Summit" panorama. The images were acquired on Spirit's sols 583 to 586 (Aug. 24 to 27, 2005), shortly after the rover reached the crest of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. This is the largest panorama yet acquired from either Spirit or Opportunity. The panoramic camera shot 653 separate images in 6 different filters, encompassing the rover's deck and the full 360 degrees of surface rocks and soils visible to the camera from this position. This is the first time the camera has been used to image the entire rover deck and visible surface from the same position. Stitching together of all the images took significant effort because of the large changes in resolution and parallax across the scene. The image is an approximately true-color rendering using the 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the surface, and the 600-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the rover deck. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. This panorama provided the team's first view of the "Inner Basin" region (center of the image), including the enigmatic "Home Plate" feature seen from orbital data. After investigating the summit area, Spirit drove downhill to get to the Inner Basin region. Spirit arrived at the summit from the west, along the direction of the rover tracks seen in the middle right of the panorama. The peaks of "McCool Hill" and "Ramon Hill" can be seen on the horizon near the center of the panorama. The summit region itself is a broad, windswept plateau. Spirit spent more than a month exploring the summit region, measuring the chemistry and mineralogy of soils and rocky outcrops at the peak of Husband Hill for comparison with similar measurements obtained during the ascent. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08805
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is a red-blue stereo anaglyph generated from images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08804
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is a red-blue stereo anaglyph generated from images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 430-nanometer filters. |
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Unparallel Lines Give Unpara
…
PIA05256
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Unparallel Lines Give Unparalleled Clues |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Scientists are excited to see new details of layered rocks in Opportunity Ledge. In previous panoramic camera images, geologists saw that some rocks in the outcrop had thin layers, and images sent to Earth on sol 17 (Feb. 10, 2004) now show that the thin layers are not always parallel to each other like lines on notebook paper. Instead, if you look closely at this image from an angle, you will notice that the lines converge and diverge at low angles. These unparallel lines give unparalleled clues that some "moving current" such as volcanic flow, wind, or water formed these rocks. These layers with converging and diverging lines are a significant discovery for scientists who are on route to rigorously test the water hypothesis. The main task for both rovers in coming weeks and months is to explore the areas around their landing sites for evidence in rocks and soils about whether those areas ever had environments that were watery and possibly suitable for sustaining life. This is a cropped image taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera on sol 16 (Feb. 9, 2004). JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. |
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Red Marks the Spot
PIA05289
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission S
…
| Title |
Red Marks the Spot |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This hematite abundance index map helps geologists choose hematite-rich locations to visit around Opportunity's landing site. Blue dots equal areas low in hematite and red dots equal areas high in hematite. Why Hematite Geologists are eager to reach the hematite-rich area in the upper left to closely examine the soil, which may reveal secrets about how the hematite got to this location. Knowing how the hematite on Mars was formed may help scientists characterize the past environment and determine whether that environment provided favorable conditions for life. The Plan Over the next few sols, engineers and scientists plan to drive Opportunity to the hematite-rich area then attempt a "pre-trench" sequence, taking measurements with the Moessbauer spectrometer, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and microscopic imager. Next, the plan is to trench the hematite rich area by spinning one wheel in place to "dig" a shallow hole. Finally, scientists will aim the instrument arm back at the same area where it pre-trenched to get post-trench data with the same instruments to compare and contrast the levels of hematite and revel how deep the hematite lays in the dirt. Index Map Details The hematite abundance index map was created using data from the miniature thermal emission instrument. The first layer is a mosaic of panoramic camera images taken prior to egress, when Opportunity was still on the lander. The colored dots represent data collected by the miniature thermal emission spectrometer on sol 11, after Opportunity had rolled off of the lander and the rover was located at the center of the blue semi-circle. The spectrometer is located on the panoramic camera mast. On sol 11, it took a low-angle 180-degree panorama of the area in front of the rover, indicated by the blue shaded dots. The instrument then raised the angle of its field of view a few degrees higher to sweep around behind the rover, indicated by the red and yellow dots offset at the far sides of the image. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. |
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View of 'Bottomless Bay' on
…
PIA09084
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Bottomless Bay' on Rim of 'Victoria' (Altered Contrast) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a section of the scalloped rim called "Bottomless Bay" (or "Bahia sin Fondo"). This view shows the northeastern side of Bottomless Bay as seen from the southwest. The exposures combined into this mosaic were taken by the rover's panoramic camera through a 750-nanometer filter during the 1,019th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Dec. 5, 2006). Contrast has been altered to improve the visibility of details in shadowed areas. |
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View of 'Bottomless Bay' on
…
PIA09081
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Bottomless Bay' on Rim of 'Victoria' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a section of the scalloped rim called "Bottomless Bay" (or "Bahia sin Fondo"). This view shows the northeastern side of Bottomless Bay as seen from the southwest. The exposures combined into this mosaic were taken by the rover's panoramic camera through a 750-nanometer filter during the 1,019th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Dec. 5, 2006). |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08809
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is an approximately true color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08807
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is an approximately true color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08808
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is an enhanced false color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08806
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is an enhanced false color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08810
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (Enhanced) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is a false color rendering (enhanced to bring out details from within the shadowed regions of the scene) of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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'McMurdo' Panorama from Spir
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PIA01906
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when Mars is farthest from the sun, so there is much less dust storm and dust devil activity than at other times of the year. This is a false-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters., This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented in exaggerated color to enhance color differences among rocks, soils and sand. Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. |
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'McMurdo' Panorama from Spir
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PIA01905
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven' (Color Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented as a stereo anaglyph to show the scene three-dimensionally when viewed through red-blue glasses (with the red lens on the left). Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about, the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when Mars is farthest from the sun, so there is much less dust storm and dust devil activity than at other times of the year. The left-eye and right-eye mosaics combined into this anaglyph were generated using the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters from the left camera and the 750-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters from the right camera, color balanced in such a way so that when the combination is fused by the viewer's eye and brain, the scene is perceived in three dimensions in natural or approximately true color. |
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'McMurdo' Panorama from Spir
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PIA01904
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented as a stereo anaglyph to show the scene three-dimensionally when viewed through red-blue glasses (with the red lens on the left). Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about, the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when Mars is farthest from the sun, so there is much less dust storm and dust devil activity than at other times of the year. The left-eye and right-eye mosaics combined into this anaglyph were generated from a hybrid combination of the Pancam's near-infrared and blue filters to bring out details that are otherwise visible only in some of the filters. |
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Still Shining After All This
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PIA03275
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Still Shining After All This Time (Polar) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This bird's-eye view combines a self-portrait of the spacecraft deck and a panoramic mosaic of the Martian surface as viewed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The rover's solar panels are still gleaming in the sunlight, having acquired only a thin veneer of dust two years after the rover landed and commenced exploring the red planet. Spirit captured this 360-degree panorama on the summit of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. During the period from Spirit's Martian days, or sols, 583 to 586 (Aug. 24 to 27, 2005), the rover's panoramic camera acquired the hundreds of individual frames for this largest panorama ever photographed by Spirit. This image is an approximately true-color rendering using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters for the Martian surface, and the 600-nanometer, 530-nanometer, and 480-nanometer filters for the rover deck. This polar projection is a compromise between a cylindrical projection ( http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20051205a.html [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20051205a.html ], http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03610 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03610 ]), which provides the best view of the terrain, and a vertical projection, which provides the best view of the deck but distorts the terrain far from the rover. The view is presented with geometric seam correction. |
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Bird's-Eye View of Opportuni
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PIA03271
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Bird's-Eye View of Opportunity at 'Erebus' (Polar) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652nd through 663rd Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of "Erebus Crater." The mosaic is presented as a polar projection. This type of projection provides a kind of overhead view of all of the surrounding terrain. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. This view is an approximate true color rendering composed of images taken through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Bird's-Eye View of Opportuni
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PIA03273
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Bird's-Eye View of Opportunity at 'Erebus' (Vertical) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652nd through 663rd Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of "Erebus Crater." The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. This view is a false-color composite of images taken through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. This kind of false-color scheme emphasizes differences in composition among the different kinds of materials that the rover is exploring. |
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