|
|
Victoria Crater' at Meridian
…
| title |
Victoria Crater' at Meridiani Planum |
| date |
10.06.2006 |
| description |
This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows "Victoria crater," an impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the equator of Mars. The crater is approximately 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter. It has a distinctive scalloped shape to its rim, caused by erosion and downhill movement of crater wall material. Layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the inner wall of the crater, and boulders that have fallen from the crater wall are visible on the crater floor. The floor of the crater is occupied by a striking field of sand dunes. Since January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been operating at Meridiani Planum. Five days before this image was taken, Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria crater, after a drive of more than 9 kilometers (over 5 miles). The rover can be seen in this image, at roughly the "ten o'clock" position along the rim of the crater. This view is a portion of an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on Oct. 3, 2006. The complete image is centered at minus7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (12 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 centimeters (10 inches) per pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:30 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, thus the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 113.6 degrees, the season on Mars is northern summer. This is an enhanced-color view generated from images acquired by the HiRISE camera using its red filter and blue-green filter. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mroor http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/UA |
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Chandra X-ray Images of Satu
…
| Name |
Chandra X-ray Images of Saturn |
|
Mars: Closest Encounter
| Title |
Mars: Closest Encounter |
|
NASA Space Observatories Gli
…
| Title |
NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Min
…
| Title |
Largest Asteroid May Be 'Mini Planet' with Water Ice |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Hubble Images of Asteroids H
…
| Title |
Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit |
|
Persistent Saturnian Auroras
| Title |
Persistent Saturnian Auroras |
| Explanation |
Are Saturn's auroras like Earth's? To help answer this question, the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html ] and the Cassini spacecraft [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/mission.cfm ] monitored Saturn's South Pole simultaneously as Cassini closed in [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040301.html ] on the gas giant in January 2004. Hubble snapped images in ultraviolet light [ http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/uv.html ], while Cassini recorded radio emissions [ http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm ] and monitored the solar wind [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/wind.html ]. Like on Earth, Saturn's auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050219.html ] make total or partial rings [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970402.html ] around magnetic pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040919.html ]s. Unlike on Earth, however, Saturn's auroras [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/06/text/ ] persist for days, as opposed to only minutes on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020101.html ]. Although surely created by charged particles [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Ielect.html ] entering the atmosphere, Saturn's auroras [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2004AGUFM.P53B..01C ] also appear to be more closely modulated by the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ] than either Earth's or Jupiter's auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001219.html ]. The above sequence [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/06/image/ ] shows three Hubble images of Saturn [ http://www.nineplanets.org/saturn.html ] each taken two days apart. |
|
| Description |
Browse Image | Medium Image (129 kB) | Large (20.4 MB) Hi-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal) [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08813 ] |
|
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
|
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
|
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
|
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani P
…
PIA03691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
2 Years on Mars! Meridiani Planum Features Investigated by the Rover, Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
24 January 2006 Two years ago, the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth Days) anniversary in December 2005. Two pictures are shown here: the one on the right is the same as that on the left, except that key features have been labeled. Both pictures include a colored portion -- a 3-d (stereo) anaglyph which can be viewed using "3-d" glasses with a red left eye and a blue right eye. Figures 2 and 3 are MOC narrow angle non-stereo images. During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up lander and rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects." Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater. Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the southwest of Eagle, and the heatshield fell just southwest of Endurance Crater. Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater. Then it was driven by the rover team out of Eagle and on into Endurance Crater. By the end of 2004, Opportunity had left Endurance and was investigating the site where the heatshield impacted the surface. After that, the rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater. Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle. "Location near": 2.0°S, 5.6°W "Image width": 300 m scale bar = 984 ft "Illumination from": left |
|
A Dynamic Spirit Site
PIA05122
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
A Dynamic Spirit Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
5 January 2004 Two Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired before the spectacular January 2004 landing of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, show the area where the lander is currently believed to have touched down. The identification of the area shown in the two pictures above is based on the pictures acquired by Spirit's descent imaging system just before landing. The lower picture was obtained by MGS MOC on 22 July 2003, the upper picture was acquired less than a month ago on 10 December 2003. What is exciting about these two pictures is the differences in the patterns of dark, squiggly streaks. These streaks are believed to have been caused by the removal of bright dust by large, passing dust devils. Comparison of the picture from July 2003 with that of December 2003 show that a different dark streak pattern developed over a period of less than 5 months. These two MOC images suggest that the landing site is a dynamic, changing place on the time scale of several months. MGS MOC has never seen a dust devil occur in Gusev Crater [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA0PIA05119 ], the location of the Spirit landing site [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA0PIA05120 ]. MGS always flies over Gusev around 2 p.m. local time, so this means that dust devils are not believed to be common around 2 p.m. However, the changes in the dark streaks suggest that dust devils definitely have occurred in Gusev Crater over the past 5 to 6 months, and they most likely occur earlier than 2 p.m. (perhaps closer to local 1 p.m. or noon). These two MOC images are simple cylindrical map projections (rotated somewhat, note the north arrow, N) at a scale of about 3 meters per pixel (~10 ft/pixel), the 300 meter scale bar is about two-tenths of a mile long. The images are located near 14.7°S, 184.6°W, and are illuminated from the left. |
|
Locating Landers on Mars
PIA05121
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Locating Landers on Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
4 January 2004 In 2003, a new technique was pioneered by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) experiment to allow the camera to obtain images with better than 1 meter (~ 3 ft) per pixel resolution. By pitching the spacecraft at a rate faster than the spacecraft moves in its orbit around Mars, MOC is able to obtain pictures with a down-track resolution of about 50 cm/pixel (~20 inches/pixel), although the cross-track resolution remains ~1.5 m/pixel (5 ft/pixel). One of the key goals of this image motion compensation (IMC) technique is to be able to image landers, such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on the martian surface. The two pictures shown here were acquired during the IMC testing in 2003. The first shows the location of the Mars Pathfinder lander (MPF) and the nearby boulder, Yogi. The second image shows the location of the Viking 1 (VL-1) lander. These locations were determined by using sight lines from the landers to near and far objects seen in the pictures acquired by the landers, and then matching these to locations in earlier, 1.5 to 3.0 m/pixel MOC images. Then, the IMC images, shown here, were acquired by MGS so that the actual landers, sitting on the martian surface, might be resolved. This technique only works well when the location of the lander is already fairly-well established. It would be extremely difficult to find a lander for which the location is uncertain, such as Viking 2 or Mars Polar Lander (in fact, for Mars Polar Lander, it would take over 60 years to map out the entire landing ellipse in which the spacecraft was lost). The two images shown here are illuminated from the left and show areas only a few hundred meters across. More information about how MGS MOC will be used to help locate the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, can be found by visiting: Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. |
|
Galle Crater Dunes
PIA05123
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Galle Crater Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
6 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows sand dunes in southern Galle Crater, east of Argyre Planitia. The sand that comprises these dunes, like other dunes on Mars, is dark, but at the time this picture was acquired during early southern summer, the dunes were covered with a coating of bright dust. Occasional, passing dust devils or wind gusts created the dark streaks seen on a few of the dunes. The dunes are located near 51.9°S, 31.2°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide, sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-
…
PIA05120
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) Spirit Landing Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
January 2004 Excitement builds as the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, prepares to land on Mars just after 8:35 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 3 January 2004 (04:35, 4 January 2004 UTC). Today's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture is a mosaic of MOC images of the Spirit landing site. The rover is expected to land somewhere within the approximately 83 km (~52 mi) long by ~10 km (~6 mi) wide ellipse on the floor of Gusev Crater [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05119 ]. Clicking on the image above will show a map of the landing site at 25 meters (82 feet) per pixel. MOC has acquired 71 pictures of the landing site over a period spanning 3 Mars years (from July 1999 through December 2003), and more than 85 pictures were acquired within Gusev Crater specifically to support the Mars Exploration Rover landing site selection process. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral, dark dust devil streaks and wind streaks are different from image to image within the mosaic. In areas where no MOC coverage exists, gaps were filled using images from the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible imager, a lower-resolution camera built by Malin Space Science Systems and operated by Arizona State University. The Gusev Crater landing ellipse is centered near 14.8°S, 184.8°W. Sunlight illuminates each image in the mosaic from the left (in some cases, upper left, in others, lower left). Spirit will land at about 2 p.m. local time on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Spirit's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Spirit after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. |
|
Gusev Crater
PIA05119
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Gusev Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
2 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle image shows the crater in which the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, is scheduled to land on 4 January 2004 (around 8:35 p.m., 3 January 2004, Pacific Standard Time). The white ellipse marks the approximate location of Spirit's landing zone. Gusev Crater is about 165 km (103 mi) across. The valley that enters Gusev from the south-southeast (bottom/lower right) is named Ma'adim Vallis. The dark areas on the floor of Gusev, when viewed at higher resolution, are found to be surfaces from which dust devils and wind gusts have removed or disrupted the fine, bright dust that otherwise blankets the crater floor. This image, acquired in November 2003, is located near 14.5°S, 184.6°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. |
|
White Rock" of Pollack Crate
…
PIA05118
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
White Rock" of Pollack Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1 January 2004 The famous "White Rock" of Pollack Crater has been known for three decades, it was originally found in images acquired by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1972. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) close-up view, obtained in October 2003, shows some of the light-toned, wind-eroded sedimentary rock that makes up "White Rock." It is not actually white, except when viewed in a processed, grayscale image (in color, it is more of a light butterscotch to pinkish material). The sediment that comprises "White Rock" was deposited in Pollack Crater a long time ago, perhaps billions of years ago, the material was later eroded by wind. Dark, windblown ripples are present throughout the scene. This picture is located near 8.2°S, 335.1°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. |
|
Tractus Fossae Pit Chain
PIA05257
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Tractus Fossae Pit Chain |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
29 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a chain of pits formed in a trough of the Tractus Fossae region near 24.1°N, 103.4°W. The troughs are graben, which are formed by faults cutting rock as the crust is stretched and extended, in this case toward the east and toward the west (right and left). As the rocks broke and moved along the fault lines that create the sharp cliffs on either side of the troughs, some materials between the trough walls collapsed along the fault trend to form the chain of pits. The picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide, sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. |
|
Summer South Polar Cap
PIA05253
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Summer South Polar Cap |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
26 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows what the martian south polar residual cap looks like in the middle of summer. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the top/upper left. The picture shows mesas composed of frozen carbon dioxide, each about 2-5 meters (6-16 ft.) high. Sunlight has darkened the slopes around the mesas as carbon dioxide sublimes away throughout the summer. The image is located near 86.2°S, 351.4°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi.) wide. |
|
Daedalia Wind Streak
PIA05246
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Daedalia Wind Streak |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
21 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dark wind streak in the lee of a small meteor impact crater in Daedalia Planum. The dominant winds responsible for this streak blew from the east (right). This picture is located near 17.1°S, 138.8°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-
…
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-
…
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-
…
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-
…
PIA05251
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) Opportunity Landing Site |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, and Spirit sites. Sunlight illuminates the wide and narrow angle views, and each image in the mosaic, from the left. The THEMIS instrument is operated by a team at Arizona State University, [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] the THEMIS-VIS camera was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), [ http://www.msss.com/press_releases/vismoc/ ] which also operates the MGS MOC. Opportunity will land in the mid-afternoon, local time, on Mars. At the same time, Mars Global Surveyor will pass over the site and listen for a transmission of Opportunity's entry, descent, and landing data. These data will be relayed back to Earth by the MOC. For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers, visit NASA/JPL's Mars Exploration Program Web site. [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] For more information about the work that Malin Space Science Systems and MGS MOC are doing in support of the rover missions, see: http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/ ]. For information about how MSSS will use this mosaic of the landing site to help find Opportunity after it touches down, see Finding MERs [ http://www.msss.com/mer_mission/finding_mer/ ]. MER landing site weather reports are located at: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/. [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/mer_weather/ ], Mosaic (Click on image for larger view) Wide Angle View (Click on image for larger view), Narrow Angle View (Click on image for larger view) 24 January 2004 The second Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, is set to land on Mars around 9:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time today, 24 January 2004 (25 January 2004 UTC). Above are shown three perspectives on the Opportunity landing site, which is an ellipse in Meridiani Planum approximately 87 km (54 mi) long by 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. All images are oriented with north up and east to the right. The lander will be coming through the atmosphere from the west/southwest, roughly following the long axis of the ellipse. It is most likely to touch down somewhere near the center of the ellipse. The first image (top) is a mosaic of MGS MOC and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images (THEMIS-VIS). The THEMIS-VIS instrument provides pictures with a spatial resolution of 18 meters per pixel (~59 ft/pixel), the MOC images used in the mosaic have resolutions ranging from 1.4 m/pixel to 12 m/pixel. A total of 15 THEMIS-VIS images were used to form the background, on which 61 MOC high resolution images were mosaiced. These data were acquired over a period spanning parts of 3 Mars years between April 1999 through January 2004. These pictures were acquired not only in different years, but in different seasons, so the illumination angle, overall brightness, and patterns of ephemeral windblown dust and, in some cases, dark dust devil streaks, are different from image to image within the mosaic. The second image (middle) is a Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle view obtained in November 2003 as part of an on-going effort to monitor the weather at the landing site. The wide angle view provides a sense of the regional context. The third image (bottom) is a 1.8 m/pixel (6 ft/pixel) view near the center of the landing ellipse. It was also acquired by MOC in November 2003, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The light-toned, somewhat circular features are believed to be either the location of ancient, buried, nearly-filled meteor impact craters or the eroded remains of craters that formed in bedrock that has long since been removed from the region. The Opportunity landing site in Meridiani Planum was selected to provide access, it is hoped, to materials bearing the iron oxide mineral, hematite. Hematite was detected in this region by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on MGS. This mineral is suspected of providing a clue that liquid water may have once played a role in the region. The dark-toned materials of Meridiani Planum cover a lighter-toned substrate that may consist of layered rock. Small ridges have formed in the dark material in some parts of the landing ellipse, but no one will know until the first images are returned, exactly what features will be present at the Opportunity site. One thing is certain: no previous Mars lander has ever gone to a setting like Meridiani Planum. The landscape is almost certain to be different than the Viking |
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Layers in Crater Wall
PIA05247
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Layers in Crater Wall |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
22 January 2004 This January 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows three distinct bands of layered material exposed in the wall of a south, middle-latitude meteor impact crater wall. Talus--debris shed from erosion of the wall--has piled up on the slopes below the layered outcrop. This picture is located near 45.5°S, 85.9°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the right/lower right. |
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Mid-Latitude Gullies
PIA05643
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mid-Latitude Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
17 March 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies in the wall of a crater near 39.1°S, 200.7°W. Discussion among Mars scientists as to how martian middle-and polar-latitude gullies formed continues to this day. They were first observed in MGS MOC images and reported in June 2000. Most investigators agree that gullies, such as those shown here, were formed by running water, but disagree on whether the liquid came from snowmelt, groundwater, or melting ground ice. Still others argue that the fluid was carbon dioxide, and a few suggest that the gullies formed "dry"--that is, by landsliding processes involving no liquid or gas. This January 2004 MOC full-resolution (1.5 m/pixel, 5 ft./pixel) image is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. The 300 m scale bar is approximately 984 ft. long. |
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Apollinaris, Gusev, and Spir
…
PIA06849
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Apollinaris, Gusev, and Spirit |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
3 September 2004 On 3 September 2004, the 28th anniversary of the Viking 2 landing on Mars, we take a look back only 9 months at another place where a U.S. spacecraft landed on the red planet. This oblique red wide angle camera image obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) shows the proximity of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A), Spirit, landing site in Gusev Crater to the martian volcano, Apollinaris Patera. The January 2004 Spirit landing site is indicated by the white circle at the bottom (south end) of the image. The volcano covers most of the upper (northern) half of the picture. The volcano's summit depression, or "caldera" is about 73 kilometers (~45 miles) across. This perspective view was obtained in June 2004 by MOC as MGS was beginning to roll so as to point the camera at a target located further north. The Spirit landing site is located near 14.8°S, 184.6°W. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the upper left. |
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Pedestal Crater
PIA07202
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Pedestal Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
5 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an impact crater, a little over 2 km (> 1.2 mi) in diameter, located in Noachis Terra near 50.4°S, 14.3°W. The crater's bouldery ejecta blanket has protected underlying material from being eroded away by wind, leaving the ejecta up on a low pedestal. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across, and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. |
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Martian Sand Dunes
PIA07203
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Martian Sand Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
6 January 2004 The north polar cap of Mars is nearly surrounded by fields of dark, windblown sand dunes. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example located near 73.5°N, 75.0°W. The orientation of these dunes indicate that the dominant winds--particularly those that occur during storms--come from the upper left (northwest). The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across, and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. |
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Mars at Ls 145°: Tharsis
PIA07198
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars at Ls 145°: Tharsis |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
4 January 2004 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 145° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 145° occurs in mid-January 2005. This picture shows the Tharsis face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°--the start of northern spring and southern summer. In January 2005, it is northern summer and southern winter. The seasons on Mars occur according to Ls, described in the following table: |
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West of Meridiani
PIA07215
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
West of Meridiani |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an eroded landscape occurring west of Sinus Meridiani, the region in which the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, landed nearly a year ago. The bedrock at this location is buried beneath a mantle of dust, sand, and granules, but remnants of younger layers of bedrock now stand high in the form of buttes in the lower right quarter of the image. The two circular mesas were once meteor impact craters. They were filled, buried, and fossilized within the rock, then later exhumed. This scene is located near 1.5°N, 6.2°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across, and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. |
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North Polar Layers
PIA07197
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
North Polar Layers |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
2 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a depression eroded into north polar layered materials located near 86.1°N, 30.8°W. The layers in the north polar region have been considered for more than 30 years to be composed of dust and ice, although this cannot be confirmed without sending a person or robot to investigate. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Tikhonravov's Eyebrows
PIA07196
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Tikhonravov's Eyebrows |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
1 January 2004 This red wide angle Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows Tikhonravov Crater in central Arabia Terra. The crater is about 386 km (240 mi) in diameter and presents two impact craters at its center that have dark patches of sand in them, giving the impression of pupils in two eyes. North (above) each of these two craters lies a dark-toned patch of surface material, providing the impression of eyebrows. M. K. Tikhonravov was a leading Russian rocket engineer in the 20th Century. The crater named for him, despite its large size, is still partly buried, on its west side, beneath the heavily cratered terrain of Arabia Terra. The center of Tikhonravov is near 13.5°N, 324.2°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Winter Clouds Over Mie
PIA05690
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Winter Clouds Over Mie |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
12 March 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle image shows late winter clouds over the 104 km (~65 mi) diameter crater, Mie. Cellular clouds occur in the lower martian atmosphere, surrounding Mie Crater. Their cloudtops are at an altitude that is below the crater rim. Higher than the crater rim occurs a series of lee wave clouds, indicating air circulation moving from west/northwest (left) toward the east/southeast (right). Mie Crater is located in Utopia Planitia, not too far from the Viking 2 landing site, near 48.5°N, 220.4°W. Sunlight illuminates this January 2004 scene from the lower left. |
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Eyeing "Eagle Crater
PIA05600
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera, Panoramic
…
| Title |
Eyeing "Eagle Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image mosaic, compiled from navigation and panoramic camera images during the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 33rd, 35th, and 36th sols on Mars, shows a panoramic view of the crater where the rover had been exploring since its dramatic arrival in late January 2004. The crater, now informally referred to as "Eagle Crater," is approximately 22 meters (72 feet) in diameter. Opportunity's lander is visible in the center of the image. Track marks reveal the rover's progress. The rover cameras recorded this view as Opportunity climbed close to the crater rim as part of a soil survey campaign. |
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Spirit Traverse Map, Sol 404
PIA07393
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Spirit Traverse Map, Sol 404 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit drove a total of 4,143 meters (2.57 miles) between its landing in January 2004 and its 404th martian day, or sol (Feb. 20, 2005). This map on an image taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the course the rover drove during that time. The rover has recently been approaching a ridge overlooking "Tennessee Valley" on the north flank of "Husband Hill." |
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