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.
Intricately Rippled Sand Dep
…
PIA03274
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Intricately Rippled Sand Deposits
Original Caption Released with Image
"" Click on the image for Intricately Rippled Sand Deposits (QTVR) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit welcomed the beginning of 2006 on Earth by taking this striking panorama of intricately rippled sand deposits in Gusev Crater on Mars. This is an approximate true-color rendering of the "El Dorado" ripple field provided by Spirit over the New Year's holiday weekend. The view spans about 160 degrees in azimuth from left to right and consists of images acquired by Spirit's panoramic camera on Spirit's 708th and 710th Martian days, or sols, (Dec. 30, 2005 and Jan. 1, 2006). Spirit used the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters to capture the colors on Mars. Scientists have eliminated seams between individual frames in the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. Spirit spent several days acquiring images, spectral data, and compositional and mineralogical information about these large sand deposits before continuing downhill toward "Home Plate."
Description
Area "c" of the image shows Spirit's heat shield at the edge of Bonneville Crater. Area "d" of the image shows the current location of Spirit. Toward the top of the image is "Home Plate," a plateau of layered rocks that Spirit explored during the early part of its third year on Mars. Spirit itself is clearly seen just southeast of Home Plate. Also visible are the tracks made by the rover before it arrived at its current location. This image is a small portion of an image catalogued as PSP_001513_1655 [ http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001513_1655/ ] taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Sept. 29, 2006. The full image is centered at minus 7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is toward the top. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (11.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 by 1 binning), so objects as small as about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image was taken at 3:30 p.m. local Mars time. The scene is illuminated from the west with a solar-incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, which means the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. When the image was taken, the season on Mars was southern winter.
An Unusual Two-Toned Rock on
…
Title
An Unusual Two-Toned Rock on Mars
Explanation
How did this unusual Martian rock form? The atypical two-toned rock, visible in the lower right of the above image [ http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/2/n/732/2N191352043EFFANBZP0715R0M1.HTML ], was photographed a few days ago by the robotic Spirit rover [ http://science.howstuffworks.com/mars-rover1.htm ] currently rolling across Mars [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars ]. For now, the environmental processes [ http://humbabe.arc.nasa.gov/mgcm/HTML/faqs.html ] that created the rock remain a matter of speculation [ http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/dec/HQ_05499_concepts.html ]. Finding unusual rocks is not unusual for Spirit [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040104.html ] or its twin rover Opportunity [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040127.html ], however. Over the past two years, for example, the rovers have unexpectedly discovered very small gray pebbles [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040405.html ] dubbed blueberries [ http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8 ], and a rock out in the middle of nowhere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050121.html ] now thought to be a meteorite [ http://meteorites.lpl.arizona.edu/intro.html ]. Having investigated alien terrain [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051114.html ] and having found clear evidence that part of Mars had a wet past [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040303.html ], the Earth-launched Martian rovers are now entering their third spectacular year [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-015 ] exploring the red planet.
Spirit's 'Paige' Panorama of
…
PIA02688
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit's 'Paige' Panorama of the Interior of 'Home Plate'
Original Caption Released with Image
"" Click on the image for Spirit's 'Paige' Panorama of the Interior of 'Home Plate' (QTVR) On Feb. 19, 2006, the 758th Martian day of exploration of the red planet by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, the rover acquired this panoramic view of the interior of "Home Plate," a circular topographic feature amid the "Columbia Hills." This view, called the "Paige" panorama, is from the top of Home Plate. It shows layered rocks exposed at the edge as well as dark rocks exhibiting both smooth and sponge-like "scoriaceous" textures. To the east from this vantage point, "McCool Hill" looms on the horizon. At the base of McCool Hill is a reddish outcrop called "Oberth," which Spirit may explore during the rapidly approaching Martian winter. "Von Braun" and "Goddard" hills are partially visible beyond the opposite rim of Home Plate. The limited spatial coverage of this panorama is the result of steadily decreasing power available to the rover for science activities as the Martian winter arrives and the sun traces a lower path across the sky. The rover team anticipates that the north-facing slopes of McCool Hill should sufficiently tilt the rover's solar panels toward the sun to allow Spirit to survive the winter. The view covers about 230 degrees of terrain around the rover. Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) took 72 separate images of this scene with four different Pancam filters. This is an approximately true-color rendering using the Pancam's 75-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. 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.
Bright Soil Near 'McCool'
PIA08039
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Bright Soil Near 'McCool'
Original Caption Released with Image
While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. This image from Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam), taken on the rover's 788th Martian day, or sol, of exploration (March 22, 2006), shows the strikingly bright tone and large extent of the materials uncovered. Several days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. Spirit found "Paso Robles" in 2005 while climbing "Cumberland Ridge" on the western slope of "Husband Hill." In early January 2006, the rover discovered "Arad" on the basin floor just south of "Husband Hill." Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's Pancam and miniature thermal emission spectrometer examined this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare its properties with the properties of those other deposits. These discoveries indicate that salty, light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts, which are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution, may record the past presence of water. So far, these enigmatic materials have generated more questions than answers, however, and as Spirit continues to drive across this region in search of a safe winter haven, the team continues to formulate and test hypotheses to explain the rover's most fascinating recent discovery. This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.
Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder
…
PIA08439
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder (False Color)
Original Caption Released with Image
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." The rock surface facing the rover is similar in appearance to the surface texture on the outside of lava flows on Earth. Spirit took this false-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 810th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 13, 2006). This image is a false-color rendering using camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.
Mars Exploration Rover Landi
…
PIA01879
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
Title
Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site at Gusev Crater
Original Caption Released with Image
. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 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 High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona., This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The impact crater in the upper left portion of the image is "Bonneville Crater," which was investigated by Spirit shortly after landing. In the lower right portion of the image is "Husband Hill," a large hill that Spirit climbed and spent much of its now nearly three-year mission. The bright irregularly shaped feature in area "a" of the image is Spirit's parachute, now lying on the Martian surface. Near the parachute is the cone-shaped back shell, which helped protect Spirit's lander during its seven-month journey to Mars. The back shell appears relatively undamaged by its impact with the Martian surface. Wrinkles and folds in the parachute fabric are clearly visible. Area "b" of the image shows Spirit's lander. The crater in the upper left portion of the image, just northwest of the lander, was informally named "Sleepy Hollow" by the Mars Exploration Rover team. Area "c" of the image shows Spirit's heat shield at the edge of Bonneville Crater. Area "d" of the image shows the current location of Spirit. Toward the top of the image is "Home Plate," a plateau of layered rocks that Spirit explored during the early part of its third year on Mars. Spirit itself is clearly seen just southeast of Home Plate. Also visible are the tracks made by the rover before it arrived at its current location. This image is a small portion of an image (catalogued as PSP_001513_1655) taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Sept. 29, 2006. The full image is centered at minus 7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is toward the top. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (11.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 by 1 binning), so objects as small as about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image was taken at 3:30 p.m. local Mars time. The scene is illuminated from the west with a solar-incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, which means the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. When the image was taken, the season on Mars was southern winter. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro [ http://www.nasa.gov/mro ] or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu [ http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu ]. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, http://www.nasa.gov [ http://www.nasa.gov ]
Mars Exploration Rover Landi
…
PIA01879
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
Title
Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site at Gusev Crater
Original Caption Released with Image
. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 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 High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona., This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The impact crater in the upper left portion of the image is "Bonneville Crater," which was investigated by Spirit shortly after landing. In the lower right portion of the image is "Husband Hill," a large hill that Spirit climbed and spent much of its now nearly three-year mission. The bright irregularly shaped feature in area "a" of the image is Spirit's parachute, now lying on the Martian surface. Near the parachute is the cone-shaped back shell, which helped protect Spirit's lander during its seven-month journey to Mars. The back shell appears relatively undamaged by its impact with the Martian surface. Wrinkles and folds in the parachute fabric are clearly visible. Area "b" of the image shows Spirit's lander. The crater in the upper left portion of the image, just northwest of the lander, was informally named "Sleepy Hollow" by the Mars Exploration Rover team. Area "c" of the image shows Spirit's heat shield at the edge of Bonneville Crater. Area "d" of the image shows the current location of Spirit. Toward the top of the image is "Home Plate," a plateau of layered rocks that Spirit explored during the early part of its third year on Mars. Spirit itself is clearly seen just southeast of Home Plate. Also visible are the tracks made by the rover before it arrived at its current location. This image is a small portion of an image (catalogued as PSP_001513_1655) taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Sept. 29, 2006. The full image is centered at minus 7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is toward the top. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (11.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 by 1 binning), so objects as small as about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image was taken at 3:30 p.m. local Mars time. The scene is illuminated from the west with a solar-incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, which means the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. When the image was taken, the season on Mars was southern winter. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro [ http://www.nasa.gov/mro ] or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu [ http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu ]. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, http://www.nasa.gov [ http://www.nasa.gov ]
Spirit Hits a Home Run
PIA02187
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit Hits a Home Run
Original Caption Released with Image
This week, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit arrived at "Home Plate," a feature that, when seen from orbit, looks like the home plate of a baseball diamond. Home Plate is a roughly circular feature about 80 meters (260 feet) in diameter that might be an old impact crater or volcanic feature. The Spirit team has been eager to get to Home Plate and has been enjoying distant views of the feature and a curious "bathtub ring" of light-colored materials along its edges. The team has pushed the rover hard to get here before the deep Martian winter sets in. After scientists had identified Home Plate from orbit, they had many theories about what it could be and what they might see. But when Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) took this and other images, the science team was stunned. This Pancam image is of an outcrop nicknamed "Barnhill" and surrounding rocks on the north side of Home Plate, showing the most spectacular layering that Spirit has seen. Pancam and microscopic imager views of the layers in the rocks reveal a range of grain sizes and textures that change from the lower to the upper part of the outcrop. This may help scientists figure out how the material was emplaced. Spirit is also conducting work with its arm instruments to figure out the chemistry and mineralogy of the rocks. Scientists have several hypotheses about what Home Plate could be, including features made by volcanoes and impact craters, and ways that water could have played a role. They are busy trying to figure out what the data from Spirit is really telling us. As Spirit works at Home Plate during February, the science team is choosing informal names for rocks from the great players and managers of the Negro Leagues of baseball. This outcrop, "Barnhill," is informally named for David Barnhill, the ace of the New York Cubans' pitching staff during the early 1940s. He compiled an 18-3 record in 1941 and defeated Satchel Paige in the 1942 East-West all-star game. Other rocks in the area are informally named for Josh Gibson, "Bullet Joe" Rogan, and Cumberland Posey. Stay tuned this month, as the Baseball Hall of Fame elects more players from the Negro Leagues and Spirit continues to examine these spectacular rocks. Spirit took this mosaic of images using the panoramic camera on the rover's 746th day, or sol (Feb. 7, 2006), of exploring Mars. Scientists are acquiring and processing image data for more views of the same terrain in approximate true color.
Mars Exploration Rover Landi
…
PIA01879
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE
Title
Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site at Gusev Crater
Original Caption Released with Image
. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 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 High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera was built by Ball Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona., This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The impact crater in the upper left portion of the image is "Bonneville Crater," which was investigated by Spirit shortly after landing. In the lower right portion of the image is "Husband Hill," a large hill that Spirit climbed and spent much of its now nearly three-year mission. The bright irregularly shaped feature in area "a" of the image is Spirit's parachute, now lying on the Martian surface. Near the parachute is the cone-shaped back shell, which helped protect Spirit's lander during its seven-month journey to Mars. The back shell appears relatively undamaged by its impact with the Martian surface. Wrinkles and folds in the parachute fabric are clearly visible. Area "b" of the image shows Spirit's lander. The crater in the upper left portion of the image, just northwest of the lander, was informally named "Sleepy Hollow" by the Mars Exploration Rover team. Area "c" of the image shows Spirit's heat shield at the edge of Bonneville Crater. Area "d" of the image shows the current location of Spirit. Toward the top of the image is "Home Plate," a plateau of layered rocks that Spirit explored during the early part of its third year on Mars. Spirit itself is clearly seen just southeast of Home Plate. Also visible are the tracks made by the rover before it arrived at its current location. This image is a small portion of an image (catalogued as PSP_001513_1655) taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Sept. 29, 2006. The full image is centered at minus 7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is toward the top. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (11.7 inches) per pixel (with 1 by 1 binning), so objects as small as about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image was taken at 3:30 p.m. local Mars time. The scene is illuminated from the west with a solar-incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, which means the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. When the image was taken, the season on Mars was southern winter. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro [ http://www.nasa.gov/mro ] or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu [ http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu ]. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, http://www.nasa.gov [ http://www.nasa.gov ]
Bright Soil Near 'McCool': S
…
PIA08012
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title
Bright Soil Near 'McCool': Salty Deja Vu?
Original Caption Released with Image
While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. This image from Spirit's navigation camera, taken on the rover's 787th Martian day, or sol, of exploration (March 21, 2006), shows the strikingly light tone and large extent of the deposit. A few days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. Spirit found "Paso Robles" in 2005 while climbing "Cumberland Ridge" on the western slope of "Husband Hill." In early January 2006, the rover discovered "Arad" on the basin floor just south of "Husband Hill." Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer is analyzing this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare it with those other deposits. These discoveries indicate that light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts may record the past presence of water, as they are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution.
Gusev Rocks Solidified from
…
PIA06101
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Gusev Rocks Solidified from Lava (False Color)
Original Caption Released with Image
In recent weeks, as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has driven through the basin south of "Husband Hill," it has been traversing mainly sand and dune deposits. This week, though, Spirit has been maneuvering along the edge of an arc-shaped feature called "Lorre Ridge" and has encountered some spectacular examples of basaltic rocks with striking textures. This panoramic camera (Pancam) image shows a group of boulders informally named "FuYi." These basaltic rocks were formed by volcanic processes and may be a primary constituent of Lorre Ridge and other interesting landforms in the basin. Spirit first encountered basalts at its landing site two years ago, on a vast plain covered with solidified lava that appeared to have flowed across Gusev Crater. Later, basaltic rocks became rare as Spirit climbed Husband Hill. The basaltic rocks that Spirit is now seeing are interesting because they exhibit many small holes or vesicles, similar to some kinds of volcanic rocks on Earth. Vesicular rocks form when gas bubbles are trapped in lava flows and the rock solidifies around the bubbles. When the gas escapes, it leaves holes in the rock. The quantity of gas bubbles in rocks on Husband Hill varies considerably, some rocks have none and some, such as several here at FuYi, are downright frothy. The change in textures and the location of the basalts may be signs that Spirit is driving along the edge of a lava flow. This lava may be the same as the basalt blanketing the plains of Spirit's landing site, or it may be different. The large size and frothy nature of the boulders around Lorre Ridge might indicate that eruptions once took place at the edge of the lava flow, where the lava interacted with the rocks of the basin floor. Scientists hope to learn more as Spirit continues to investigate these rocks. As Earth approaches the Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dog), the Athena science team decided to use nicknames representing Chinese culture and geography to identify rocks and features investigated by Spirit during the Chinese New Year celebration period. In ancient Chinese myth, FuYi was the first great emperor and lived in the east. He explained the theory of "Yin" and "Yang" to his people, invented the net to catch fish, was the first to use fire to cook food, and invented a musical instrument known as the "Se" to accompany his peoples' songs and dances. Other rocks and features are being informally named for Chinese gods, warriors, inventors, and scientists, as well as rivers, lakes, and mountains. Spirit took this image on the rover's Martian day, or sol, 731 (Jan. 23, 2006). This is a false-color composite combining images taken with the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters.
Gusev Rocks Solidified from
…
PIA06102
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Gusev Rocks Solidified from Lava (Approximate True Color)
Original Caption Released with Image
In recent weeks, as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has driven through the basin south of "Husband Hill," it has been traversing mainly sand and dune deposits. This week, though, Spirit has been maneuvering along the edge of an arc-shaped feature called "Lorre Ridge" and has encountered some spectacular examples of basaltic rocks with striking textures. This panoramic camera (Pancam) image shows a group of boulders informally named "FuYi." These basaltic rocks were formed by volcanic processes and may be a primary constituent of Lorre Ridge and other interesting landforms in the basin. Spirit first encountered basalts at its landing site two years ago, on a vast plain covered with solidified lava that appeared to have flowed across Gusev Crater. Later, basaltic rocks became rare as Spirit climbed Husband Hill. The basaltic rocks that Spirit is now seeing are interesting because they exhibit many small holes or vesicles, similar to some kinds of volcanic rocks on Earth. Vesicular rocks form when gas bubbles are trapped in lava flows and the rock solidifies around the bubbles. When the gas escapes, it leaves holes in the rock. The quantity of gas bubbles in rocks on Husband Hill varies considerably, some rocks have none and some, such as several here at FuYi, are downright frothy. The change in textures and the location of the basalts may be signs that Spirit is driving along the edge of a lava flow. This lava may be the same as the basalt blanketing the plains of Spirit's landing site, or it may be different. The large size and frothy nature of the boulders around Lorre Ridge might indicate that eruptions once took place at the edge of the lava flow, where the lava interacted with the rocks of the basin floor. Scientists hope to learn more as Spirit continues to investigate these rocks. As Earth approaches the Chinese New Year (The Year of the Dog), the Athena science team decided to use nicknames representing Chinese culture and geography to identify rocks and features investigated by Spirit during the Chinese New Year celebration period. In ancient Chinese myth, FuYi was the first great emperor and lived in the east. He explained the theory of "Yin" and "Yang" to his people, invented the net to catch fish, was the first to use fire to cook food, and invented a musical instrument known as the "Se" to accompany his peoples' songs and dances. Other rocks and features are being informally named for Chinese gods, warriors, inventors, and scientists, as well as rivers, lakes, and mountains. Spirit took this image on the rover's Martian day, or sol, 731 (Jan. 23, 2006). This is an approximate true color rendering combining images taken with the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters.
Coarse Layering at 'Home Pla
…
PIA08064
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Coarse Layering at 'Home Plate'
Original Caption Released with Image
This image shows coarse-grained layers from around the edge of a low plateau called "Home Plate" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. One possible origin is material falling to the ground after being thrown aloft by an explosion such as a volcanic eruption or meteorite impact. The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired the exposures for this image on Spirit's 749th Martian day (Feb. 10, 2006). This view is an approximately true-color rendering mathematically generated from separate images taken through all of the left Pancam's 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer filters.
Possible Meteorite in 'Colum
…
PIA08529
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Possible Meteorite in 'Columbia Hills' on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image
The rock in the center foreground of this picture is suspected of being an iron meteorite. The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image during the rover's 809th Martian day (April 12, 2006). The foreground rock, informally named "Allan Hills," and a similar rock called "Zhong Shan," just out of the field of view to the left, have a smoother texture and lighter tone than other rocks in the area. The texture and glossiness of this pair reminded some members of the rover science team of a rock called "Heat Shield Rock," which was observed by Opportunity, Spirit's twin, in the Meridiani region of Mars more than a year ago. Examination of that rock's composition confirmed it to be an iron meteorite (see PIA07269 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07269 ]). Observations of Allan Hills and Zhong Shan with Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer indicate that they are very reflective, like Heat Shield Rock. They are the first likely meteorites found by Spirit. Rocks in the vicinity of Spirit's winter station are being assigned informal names honoring Antarctic research stations. Zhong Shan is an Antarctic base established by China in 1989. Allan Hills is a site where meteorites are frequently collected because they are relatively easy to see as dark rocks on the bright Antarctic ice. The most famous Allan Hills meteorite from Antarctica actually came from Mars and landed on Earth. If the Zhong Chang and Allan Hills rocks seen by Spirit do turn out to be iron-rich meteorites, they may have originated from an asteroid and landed on Mars. This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. It is a portion of an image previously released (see PIA08095 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08095 ]).
Spirit Scans Winter Haven (F
…
PIA08094
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit Scans Winter Haven (False Color)
Original Caption Released with Image
At least three different kinds of rocks await scientific analysis at the place where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will likely spend several months of Martian winter. They are visible in this picture, which the panoramic camera on Spirit acquired during the rover's 809th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 12, 2006). Paper-thin layers of light-toned, jagged-edged rocks protrude horizontally from beneath small sand drifts, a light gray rock with smooth, rounded edges sits atop the sand drifts, and several dark gray to black, angular rocks with vesicles (small holes) typical of hardened lava lie scattered across the sand. This view is a false-color rendering that combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.
Spirit's Winter Home
PIA09090
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit's Winter Home
Original Caption Released with Image
Annotated Version This is a portion of an image called the "McMurdo Panorama," taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Spirit rover during its winter campaign of 2006. The view is looking toward the north at "Husband Hill," the dark-toned "El Dorado" dune field and the light-toned "Home Plate" feature. Husband Hill is approximately 850 meters (2,800 feet) from the rover's winter campaign site. Wind-blown ripples are evident in the field in the foreground, along with vesicular basalt rock. Tracks made by Spirit as it left Home Plate are also visible. The McMurdo Panorama PIA01907 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01907 ] was acquired over several months while Spirit was on "Low Ridge." It required all of the camera's geology filters and covered 360 degrees in azimuth. This view is in false color, with blue, green and red representing data collected through 430-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 750-nanometer filters, respectively.
Salty Expression
PIA03684
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Salty Expression
Original Caption Released with Image
Figure 1 False-Color Composite NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit spent the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend analyzing a remarkable exposure of bright, loose material. Spirit discovered the material while driving toward "Home Plate" along the floor of the basin south of "Husband Hill" in Gusev Crater. These images from Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) show some of the most colorful deposits yet photographed on the surface of Mars. Spirit uncovered several types of materials distinctive in their color, physical properties and chemistry as a result of accidentally digging a trench 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) wide during a turn at the end of a drive. The white material in this image is brighter than any seen previously by the rover. It has a powdery and cloddy texture and exhibits a high abundance of salts. The materials appear similar in some ways to bright soil deposits seen back at the "Paso Robles" site that Spirit encountered on the rover's Martian day, or sol, 431 (March 20, 2005) while climbing the northern flank of "Husband Hill." Spirit analyzed the bright, yellowish exposures in the lower left part of the frame using instruments on the rover's robotic arm. Scientists hypothesized and then confirmed that these materials have a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. These salts may record the past presence of water, as they are most easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution. Spirit also examined the unusual, pitted rock about 10 centimeters (4 inches) wide in the lower center of the frame. Scientists continue to study the origin of these rocks and soils and the role that water has played in their formation. This view is an approximately true-color composite combining images taken with the Pancam's 600-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters on Jan. 12, 2006, the rover's 721st sol on Mars. The view in figure 1 is a false-color composite combining images taken with the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters on the same day.
Rock Abrasion Tool Exhibits
…
PIA08625
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Rock Abrasion Tool Exhibits the Deep Red Pigment of Mars
Original Caption Released with Image
During recent soil-brushing experiments, the rock abrasion tool on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became covered with dust, as shown here. An abundance of iron oxide minerals in the dust gave the device a reddish-brown veneer. Investigators were using the rock abrasion tool to uncover successive layers of soil in an attempt to reveal near-surface stratigraphy. Afterward, remnant dirt clods were visible on both the bit and the brush of the tool. Designers of the rock abrasion tool at Honeybee Robotics and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed a plan to run the brush on the rock abrasion tool in reverse to dislodge the dirt and return the tool to normal operation. Subsequent communications with the rover revealed that the procedure is working and the rock abrasion tool remains healthy. Spirit acquired this approximately true-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 893rd sol, or Martian day (July 8, 2006). The image combines exposures taken through three of the camera's filters, centered on wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers, and 430 nanometers.
Rover Tracks Seen from Orbit
title
Rover Tracks Seen from Orbit
Description
Wheel tracks left by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, and even the rover itself, are visible in this image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. North is up in this image. The tracks and rover are in the area south of a crater informally named "Bonneville," which is just southeast of the center of the image. The orbiter captured this image with use of an enhanced-resolution technique called compensated pitch and roll targeted observation. It took the picture on March 30, 2004, 85 martian days, or sols, after Spirit landed on Mars. The rover had driven from its landing site to the rim of Bonneville and was examining materials around the crater's rim. In this portion of the plains inside the much larger Gusev Crater, Spirit created wheel tracks darker than the undisturbed surface, as seen in the rover's own images showing the tracks (for example, http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05450 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05450 ]). The contrast allows the tracks to show up in the image obtained from orbit. Also visible are Spirit's lander, backshell and parachute, and the scar where its heat shield hit the ground. The full image covers an area 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide, at 14.8 degrees south latitude and 184.6 degrees west longitude. Pixel size is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) by one-half meter (1.6 feet). Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home
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PIA02055
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Spirit Says Goodbye to 'Home Plate'
Original Caption Released with Image
For the past several weeks, Spirit has been examining spectacular layered rocks exposed at "Home Plate." The rover has been driving around the northern and eastern edges of Home Plate, on the way to "McCool Hill." Before departing, Spirit took this image showing some of the most complex layering patterns seen so far at this location. The layered nature of these rocks presents new questions for the rover team. In addition to their chemical properties, which scientists can study using Spirit's spectrometers, these rocks record a detailed history of the physical properties that formed them. In the center of this image, one group of layers slopes downward to the right. The layers above and below this group are more nearly horizontal. Where layers of different orientations intersect, other layers are truncated. This indicates that there were complex patterns of alternating erosion and deposition occurring when these layers were being deposited. Similar patterns can be found in some sedimentary rocks on Earth. Physical relationships among the various layers exposed at Home Plate are crucial evidence in understanding how these Martian rocks formed. Scientists suspect that the rocks at Home Plate were formed in the aftermath of a volcanic explosion or impact event, and they are investigating the possibility that wind may also have played a role in redistributing materials after such an event. Images like this one from panoramic camera (Pancam), which shows larger-scale layering, as well as those from the microscopic imager, which reveal the individual sand-sized grains that make up these rocks, are essential to understanding the geologic history of Home Plate. This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-namometer, and 432-nanometer filters during Spirit's 774th Martian day (March 8, 2006).
'King George Island' Brushed
PIA09092
Sol (our sun)
Microscopic Imager
Title
'King George Island' Brushed
Original Caption Released with Image
Annotated Version This mosaic was made from frames acquired by the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during Spirit's 1,031 Martian day, or sol, on the red planet (Nov. 27, 2006). It shows a rock target called "King George Island" after the target was brushed by the rover's rock abrasion tool. The mosaic covers approximately 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across and shows the granular nature of the rock exposure. The grains are typically about 1 millimeter (.04 inches) wide. Data from the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer provides evidence that they have an enhanced amount of the mineral hematite relative to surrounding soils.
Stack of Layers at 'Payson'
…
PIA08065
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title
Stack of Layers at 'Payson' in Meridiani Planum
Original Caption Released with Image
The stack of fine layers exposed at a ledge called "Payson" on the western edge of "Erebus Crater" in Mars' Meridiani Planum shows a diverse range of primary and secondary sedimentary textures formed billions of years ago. These structures likely result from an interplay between windblown and water-involved processes. The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired the exposures for this image on the rover's 749th Martian day (March 3, 2006) This view is an approximately true-color rendering mathematically generated from separate images taken through all of the left Pancam's 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer filters.
Pathfinder Landing
This photo shows Mars Pathfi
…
6/14/95
Date
6/14/95
Description
This photo shows Mars Pathfinder's configuration shortly after landing on the Martian surface on July 4, 1997. The spacecraft will land four hours before sunrise and spend most of that time standing itself upright, retracting its air bags, as seen here, and opening its petals to expose the 22-pound rover. As the sun comes up on Mars, the rover will power up its solar panels and prepare to roll off onto the Martian surface for a week of exploration. Mars Pathfinder, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is scheduled for launch on Dec. 2, 1996.
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. #####
Size Comparison, Mars Scienc
…
title
Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rover
description
An artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (left) serves to compare it with Spirit, one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Mars Science Laboratory is in development for a launch opportunity in 2009, a landing on Mars in 2010 and investigation of that planet's past or present ability to sustain microbial life. The images of Spirit and the more advanced rover are both superimposed by special effects on a scene from Mars'"Columbia Hills," photographed by Spirit's panoramic camera on April 13, 2005, and presented here in false color (see Next Stop: Methuselah [PIA07855]). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Spirit's View of Mars
title
Spirit's View of Mars
date
01.03.2004
description
Only hours after landing, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit sent back its first black and white images of Mars. This mosaic image taken by Spirit's navigation has been further processed, significantly improving the 360 degree panoramic view of the rover on the surface of Mars. See more images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Rover Tracks on Mars
title
Rover Tracks on Mars
description
New imaging techniques enabled Mars Global Surveyor to capture the incredibly detailed images from orbit of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover's tracks on the surface of Mars. The orbiter entered its third mission extension in September 2004 after seven years of orbiting Mars. The spacecraft entered Mars orbit on Sept. 12, 1997. *Image Credit*: NASA
Spirit's Landing Site
title
Spirit's Landing Site
description
This image, taken previously by the thermal emission spectrometer onboard Mars Global Surveyor, highlights the same cluster of craters captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as it descends to Mars. *Image Credit*: NASA
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. #####
19) Communications Relay for
…
title
19) Communications Relay for Mars Landers and Rovers:
Description
2001 Mars Odyssey is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet in which missions and their respective scientific discoveries and technological capabilities are highly coordinated. To support other missions, Odyssey's UHF antenna will be used for communications between Odyssey and future Mars landers, such as two Mars Exploration Rovers planned for launch in 2003With far greater mobility than the 1997 Mars Pathfinder rover, these robotic explorers will be able to trek up to 100 meters (about 110 yards) across the surface each Martian day.
Above Spirit
title
Above Spirit
date
01.03.2004
description
A mosaic image taken by Spirit's navigation camera shows the Mars Exploration Rover sitting on its landing platform only hours after touching down on Gusev Crater. The image has been reprocessed to imove the view. See more Spirit images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Making Tracks on Mars
title
Making Tracks on Mars
date
01.31.2004
description
This image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rear hazard-identification camera shows the now-empty lander that carried the rover 283 million miles to Meridiani Planum, Mars. Engineers received confirmation that Opportunity's six wheels successfully rolled off the lander and onto martian soil at 3:01 a.m. PST, January 31, 2004, on the seventh martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in front of the lander, facing north. Immediate science results from the rover indicated that the site does indeed have a type of mineral, crystalline hematite, that was the principal reason the site was selected for exploration. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Spirit's Shadow
title
Spirit's Shadow
date
02.22.2004
description
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit casts a shadow over the trench that the rover is examining with tools on its robotic arm. Spirit took this image with its front hazard-avoidance camera on Feb. 21, 2004, during the rover's 48th martian day, or sol. It dug the trench with its left front wheel the preceding sol. Plans call for Spirit to finish examining the trench on sol 50. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Spirit Descent
title
Spirit Descent
date
01.03.2004
description
This image, taken by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's lander, shows a view of Gusev Crater as the lander descends to Mars. The picture is taken at an altitude of 1400 meters. Numerous small impact craters can be seen on the surface of the planet. These images help the onboard software to minimize the lander's horizontal velocity before its bridal is cut, and it falls freely to the surface of Mars. See more Spirit images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Photo Op
title
Photo Op
date
01.25.2004
description
This image is one of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's first breathtaking views of the martian landscape after its successful landing at Meridiani Planum on Mars. On the left, the rover's mast can be seen in a stowed position. Opportunity landed Saturday, Jan. 24, 2004 at about 9:05 PST. The image was taken by the rover's navigation camera. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Red Planet
title
Red Planet
description
This is the first color image of Mars taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. It is the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet. A high-resolution TIFF version of this image is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/?IDNumber=pia04995. *Image credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell University
Columbia Memorial
title
Columbia Memorial
date
01.06.2004
description
The landing site of the Mars Spirit rover in honor of the astronauts who died in the tragic accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February. The area in the vast flatland of the Gusev Crater where Spirit landed this weekend will be called the Columbia Memorial Station. Since its historic landing, Spirit has been sending extraordinary images of its new surroundings on the red planet over the past few days. Among them, an image of a memorial plaque placed on the spacecraft to Columbia's astronauts and the STS-107 mission. The plaque is mounted on the back of Spirit's high-gain antenna, a disc-shaped tool used for communicating directly with Earth. The plaque is aluminum and approximately six inches in diameter. The memorial plaque was attached March 28, 2003, at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Chris Voorhees and Peter Illsley, Mars Exploration Rover engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed the plaque. *Image Credit*: NASA
Six Wheels on Mars
title
Six Wheels on Mars
date
01.15.2004
description
This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's rear hazard identification camera shows the rover's hind view of the lander platform, its nest for the past 12 sols, or martian days. The rover is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in front of the airbag-cushioned lander, facing northwest. Note the tracks left in the martian soil by the rovers' wheels, all six of which have rolled off the lander. This is the first time the rover has touched martian soil. *Image Credit*: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Heat Shield Wreckage
title
Heat Shield Wreckage
description
This image from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a portion of the heat shield that the spacecraft jettisoned shortly before landing. *Image Credit*: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Hubble Snaps Mars
title
Hubble Snaps Mars
date
08.27.2003
description
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this close-up of the red planet Mars when it was just 55,760,220 km (34,648,840 miles) away. The picture was taken only 11 hours before Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years. The next closest approach is in 2287. *Image Credit*: NASA
Martian Meteorite
title
Martian Meteorite
description
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel according to readings from spectrometers on the rover. Only a small fraction of the meteorites fallen on Earth are similarly metal-rich. Others are rockier. As an example, the meteorite that blasted the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona is similar in composition. "This is a huge surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have been," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. The meteorite, dubbed "Heat Shield Rock," sits near debris of Opportunity's heat shield on the surface of Meridiani Planum, a cratered flatland that has been Opportunity's home since the robot landed on Mars nearly one year ago. "I never thought we would get to use our instruments on a rock from someplace other than Mars," Squyres said. "Think about where an iron meteorite comes from: a destroyed planet or planetesimal that was big enough to differentiate into a metallic core and a rocky mantle." Rover-team scientists are wondering whether some rocks that Opportunity has seen atop the ground surface are rocky meteorites. "Mars should be hit by a lot more rocky meteorites than iron meteorites," Squyres said. "We've been seeing lots of cobbles out on the plains, and this raises the possibility that some of them may in fact be meteorites. We may be investigating some of those in coming weeks. The key is not what we'll learn about meteorites -- we have lots of meteorites on Earth -- but what the meteorites can tell us about Meridiani Planum." The numbers of exposed meteorites could be an indication of whether the plain is gradually eroding away or being built up. NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Garvin said, "Exploring meteorites is a vital part of NASA's scientific agenda, and discovering whether there are storehouses of them on Mars opens new research possibilities, including further incentives for robotic and then human-based sample-return missions. Mars continues to provide unexpected science 'gold,' and our rovers have proven the value of mobile exploration with this latest finding." Initial observation of Heat Shield Rock from a distance with Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer suggested a metallic composition and raised speculation last week that it was a meteorite. The rover drove close enough to use its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, confirming the meteorite identification over the weekend. Opportunity and Spirit successfully completed their primary three-month missions on Mars in April 2004. NASA has extended their missions twice because the rovers have remained in good condition to continue exploring Mars longer than anticipated. They have found geological evidence of past wet environmental conditions that might have, been hospitable to life. Opportunity has driven a total of 2.10 kilometers (1.30 miles). Minor mottling from dust has appeared in images from the rover's rear hazard-identification camera since Opportunity entered the area of its heat-shield debris, said Jim Erickson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., rover project manager. The rover team plans to begin driving Opportunity south toward a circular feature called "Vostok" within about a week. Spirit has driven a total of 4.05 kilometers (2.52 miles). It has been making slow progress uphill toward a ridge on "Husband Hill" inside Gusev Crater. *Image Credit*: NASA
Mars Science Laboratory
title
Mars Science Laboratory
Description
The Mars Science Laboratory will be much larger than NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers that began exploring the red planet in early 2004. Credit: NASA
Mars Exploration Rover 1
PIA04834
Title
Mars Exploration Rover 1
Original Caption Released with Image
February 10, 2003 Engineers for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission are completing assembly and testing for the twin robotic geologists at JPL. This week the twin rovers are sharing floor space in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility for the last time before they are shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This image shows Mars Exploration Rover 1, fully assembled. The rovers will be launched separately in May and June.
Mars Express
title
Mars Express
description
The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft is depicted in orbit around Mars in this artist's illustration. The spacecraft was launched June 2, 2003, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan and entered Mars orbit in December 2003. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/ESA
Empty Nest
title
Empty Nest
date
01.18.2004
description
This image mosaic taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's landing site, the Columbia Memorial Station, at Gusev Crater, Mars. This spectacular view may encapsulate Spirit's entire journey, from lander to its possible final destination toward the east hills. On its way, the rover will travel 250 meters (820 feet) northeast to a large crater approximately 200 meters (660 feet) across, the ridge of which can be seen to the left of this image. To the right are the east hills, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) away from the lander. The picture was taken on the 16th martian day, or sol, of the mission (Jan. 18/19, 2004). A portion of Spirit's solar panels appear in the foreground. Data from the panoramic camera's green, blue and infrared filters were combined to create this approximate true color image. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
…
title
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Nilosyrtis
date
12.10.2003
description
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter passes above Nilosyrtis Mensae in this illustration. NASA plans to launch this multipurpose spacecraft in August 2005 to advance our understanding of Mars through detailed observation, to examine potential landing sites for future surface missions and to provide a high-data-rate communications relay for those missions. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Nozomi
title
Nozomi
description
An artist's impression of Japan's Nozomi orbiter at Mars. Nozomi means 'Hope' in Japanese. *Image Credit and Copyright*: Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency
Scientific Sunset
title
Scientific Sunset
description
Sunset on Mars catches NASA's proposed Mars Science Laboratory in the foreground in this artist's concept. The mission is under development for launch in 2009 and a precision landing on Mars in 2010. Once on the ground, the Mars Science Laboratory would analyze dozens of samples scooped up from the soil and cored from rocks as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. It would investigate the past or present ability of Mars to support life. NASA is considering nuclear energy for powering the rover to give it a long operating lifespan. *Image Credit*: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
