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Hot New Rover Wheels!
NASA's next rover to Mars, under construction at JPL, turns its n …
07/13/10
Description NASA's next rover to Mars, under construction at JPL, turns its new set of wheels.
Date 07/13/10
Opportunity Rover Weathers the Storm -- Web Video
Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, is waiting for the dust to s …
7/23/07
Mars Exploration Rover Turn Evaluation Test on Rogers Dry Lake
Mars Exploration Rover Incline Stability Test on Rogers Dry Lake
Mars Exploration Rover terrain simulation tests on Rogers Dry Lak …
Mars Exploration Rover Navigation and Maneuver Test on Rogers Dry …
NASA's Mars Rover Braves Severe Dust Storm «É_ Video File
A series of severe Martian summer dust storms has affected Mars r …
7/20/07
3 Years on Mars: Spirit
Overview of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's first two years on Ma …
1/4/07
3 Years on Mars: Opportunity
Overview of Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's first three year …
1/24/07
As Martian Skies Brighten, Rovers Roll...Video File
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity prepares to drive into …
Red rover Goes To Mars-Student Astronaut B-Roll Compilation
A brief compilation of b-roll of Student Astronauts Courtney Dres …
1/8/04
Mars Exploration Rover Launches: Tracker camera view
Edited raw footage compilation of the launches of the Mars Explor …
8/15/03
On Mars: A Mars Exploration Rover Update (Compilation)
This update recognizes Spirit and Opportunity's 4th year annivers …
1/22/08
NASA Connect - PSA - Rover and Experimental Robots
NASA Connect Segment exploring the different types of robots. It …
1/22/04
Description NASA Connect Segment exploring the different types of robots. It also explores robots such as the Mars Rover that scientists at NASA use to explore beyond the Earth.
Date 1/22/04
MER Spirit Stand Up Compilation
MER Team reacts to confirmation of stand up deployment of Spirit …
1/10/04
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Instrument Selection - Video File
NASA has selected the scientific instruments for the Mars Science …
11/22/04
Martian Moons Transit the Sun
The upper-left of these images shows the passing, or transit, of …
6/9/08
Description The upper-left of these images shows the passing, or transit, of the Martian moon Deimos across the sun. This event is similar to solar eclipses seen from Earth in which our moon crosses in front of the sun. The bottom three images show Phobos, Mars's other moon, transiting the sun. The potato-shaped Phobos is roughly 15 miles across, about twice the size of Deimos. Deimos appears so much smaller because it is also a bit more than twice as far away from Mars as Phobos is. The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took images of both moons on different days in March 2004. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Date 6/9/08
Vice President Dick Cheney Visits JPL-Video File
Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the Mars Exploration Rover P …
1/14/04
Hematite Animation of Meridiani
Animated flyover of the Meridiani landing site for the Mars Explo …
1/22/04
MER Entry, Descent & Landing Testing Highlights
Brief highlights of testing the Mars Exploration Rover Entry, Des …
5/20/03
Spirit Ascent Movie, Rover's-Eye View
PIA04423
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-identification Camera
Title Spirit Ascent Movie, Rover's-Eye View
Original Caption Released with Image A movie assembled from frames taken by the rear hazard-identification camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the last few days of the rover's ascent to the crest of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The rover was going in reverse. Rover planners often drive Spirit backwards to keep wheel lubrication well distributed. The images in this clip span a timeframe from Spirit's 573rd martian day, or sol (Aug, 13, 2005) to sol 582 (Aug. 22, 2005), the day after the rover reached the crest. During that period, Spirit drove 136 meters (446 feet),
Rover Pre-Turn
PIA05050
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Rover Pre-Turn
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows the view from the front hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit before the rover begins a crucial 3-point turn to face in a west direction and roll off the lander.
Spirit's Robotic Stretch
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this forward view o …
10/22/09
Description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this forward view of its arm and surroundings during the rover's 2,052nd Martian day, or sol, on Oct. 11, 2009. Bright soil in the left half of the image is loose, fluffy material churned by the rover's left-front wheel as Spirit, driving backwards, approached its current position in April 2009 and the wheel broke through a darker, crusty surface. Spirit used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this image. The turret of tools at the end of the rover's robotic arm is positioned with the Moessbauer spectrometer up and the rock abrasion tool extending toward the right. Spirit's right-front wheel, visible in this image, has not worked since 2006. It is the least-embedded of the rover's six wheels at the current location, called "Troy." Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, have been working on Mars for more than 58 months in what were originally planned as 3-month missions on Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Date 10/22/09
Mars 2003 Rover
This artist's rendering shows a side view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rov …
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. #####
NASA's Mars Team Teaches Old Rovers New Tricks to Kick Off Year 4 …
Animated route of Spirit's exploration. Pan of Columbia Hills". M …
1/2/07
Spirit's Destination (panorama)
PIA05591
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Spirit's Destination (panorama)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Spirit's Destination (panorama) (QTVR) This panoramic image mosaic from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera, shows the rover's destination toward the hills nicknamed the "Columbia Hills," on the right. The rover's heatshield can be seen on the left as a tiny bright dot in the distance, just under the horizon. Dark drift material can be seen in the image center. The rover is currently positioned outside the view of this image, on the right. This image was taken on sols 68 and 69 of Spirit's mission (March 12 and 13, 2004) from the location the rover first reached on the western rim of the crater. The image is in approximate true color, based on a scaling of data from the red, green and blue (750 nanometers, 530 nanometers, and 480 nanometers) filters.
Testing Spirit on Five Wheels
PIA06685
Title Testing Spirit on Five Wheels
Original Caption Released with Image This picture shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners devised a creative approach to keep the rover moving. They will drive Spirit backwards on five wheels, engaging the sixth wheel only sparingly to ensure its availability for tougher terrain. Tests performed at JPL allowed the rover planners to come up with this roundabout solution, and to develop commands that will help the five-wheeled rover steer.
MRPS #80811 (Sol 1) Pathfinder's rover, airbags, & Martian terrai …
This is one of the first pictures taken by the camera on the Mars …
7/4/97
Date 7/4/97
Description This is one of the first pictures taken by the camera on the Mars Pathfinder lander shortly after its touchdown at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time on July 4, 1997. The small rover, named Sojourner, is seen in the foreground in its position on a solar panel of the lander. The white material on either side of the rover is part of the deflated airbag system used to absorb the shock of the landing. Between the rover and the horizon is the rock-strewn martian surface. Two hills are seen in the right distance, profiled against the light brown sky. Pathfinder, a low-cost Discovery mission, is the first of a new fleet of spacecraft that are planned to explore Mars over the next ten years. Mars Global Surveyor, already en route, arrives at Mars on September 11 to begin a two year orbital reconnaissance of the planet's composition, topography, and climate. Additional orbiters and landers will follow every 26 months. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
Spirit Rover on 'Husband Hill'
title Spirit Rover on 'Husband Hill'
Description Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. Shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image covering approximately 3 kilometers by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles by 1.9 miles) centered on the rover's location at that time in the "Columbia Hills.""Husband Hill," the tallest in the range, is just below the center of the image. The image has a resolution of about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) per pixel. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. The image was acquired on Nov. 2, 2005. A white box indicates the location of an excerpted portion on which the location of Spirit on that date is marked. Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the Mars Exploration Rover team at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., confirmed the location of the rover in the image. The region toward the bottom of the image shows the area where the rover is currently headed. The large dark patch and other similar dark patches are accumulations of windblown sand and granules. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Skirting an Obstacle
This view from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration R …
11/12/09
Description This view from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows tracks left by backing out of a wind-formed ripple after the rover's wheels had started to dig too deeply into the dust and sand of the ripple. The frames combined into this view were taken on the 1,867th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (April 25, 2009). The scene spans 120 degrees, from southeastward on the left to westward on the right. Two sols earlier, Opportunity drove 310 feet south-southwestward before stopping when the rover detected that its wheels were slipping more than the limit that engineers had set for the drive. That Sol 1865 (April 23, 2009) drive created the tracks that enter this scene from the left and ended with wheels on the left side of the rover partially embedded in the ripple. On Sol 1866, Opportunity began to back away from this potential trap, but moved only about 11 inches. On Sol 1867, the rover backed up 12 feet before taking this picture. Subsequently, Opportunity proceeded on a path avoiding the ripple where the wheel slippage occurred. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about about 40 inches). This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Date 11/12/09
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.
Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
PIA05048
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (QTVR) This section of the first color image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been further processed to produce a sharper look at a trail left by the one of rover's airbags. The drag mark was made after the rover landed and its airbags were deflated and retracted. Scientists have dubbed the region the "Magic Carpet" after a crumpled portion of the soil that appears to have been peeled away (lower left side of the drag mark). Rocks were also dragged by the airbags, leaving impressions and "bow waves" in the soil. The mission team plans to drive the rover over to this site to look for additional clues about the composition of the martian soil. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera. This extreme close-up image (see insets above) highlights the martian feature that scientists have named "Magic Carpet" because of its resemblance to a crumpled carpet fold. Scientists think the soil here may have detached from its underlying layer, possibly due to interaction with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's airbag after landing. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Mars 2003 Rover
This is a close-up view of the arm on NASA's Mars 2003 Rover that …
7/27/00
Date 7/27/00
Description This is a close-up view of the arm on NASA's Mars 2003 Rover that contains several of the scientific instruments. The Microscopic Imager is being extended toward the rock, the Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is pointing back toward the rover body, the Mossbauer spectrometer is pointing away from the viewer (i.e., toward the rover's left front wheel), and the Rock Abrasion Tool is pointing toward the viewer. The rover is set for launch in June 2003 and will arrive at Mars in January 2004. JPL will manage the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload.
Spirit's View Beside 'Home Plate' on Sol 1823
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera t …
4/16/09
Description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images that have been combined into this 180-degree view of the rover's surroundings...
Date 4/16/09
A rover wheel in soil - color
PIA00645
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title A rover wheel in soil - color
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by a camera aboard the Sojourner rover on Sol 4. A rover wheel is at center, and tracks are visible in the soil at top where the cleated wheel passed over the surface. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Rover wheel & tracks - color
PIA00671
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Rover wheel & tracks - color
Original Caption Released with Image This view from the Sojourner rover's rear color camera shows wheel tracks in the orange-red martian soil. One of the rover's cleated wheels is visible at left. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Mars Exploration Rover 2
PIA04835
Title Mars Exploration Rover 2
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. In the image above, engineers are installing the rover's solar panels. The rovers will be launched separately in May and June.
'Fram' in Color
PIA05990
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title 'Fram' in Color
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for 'Fram' in Color (QTVR) This view in approximately true color reveals details in an impact crater informally named "Fram" in the Meridian Planum region of Mars. The picture is a mosaic of frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 88th martian day on Mars, on April 23, 2004. The crater spans about 8 meters (26 feet) in diameter. Opportunity paused beside it while traveling from the rover's landing site toward a larger crater farther east. This view combines images taken using three of the camera's filters for different wavelengths of light: 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers.
'Fram' in Color
PIA05990
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title 'Fram' in Color
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for 'Fram' in Color (QTVR) This view in approximately true color reveals details in an impact crater informally named "Fram" in the Meridian Planum region of Mars. The picture is a mosaic of frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 88th martian day on Mars, on April 23, 2004. The crater spans about 8 meters (26 feet) in diameter. Opportunity paused beside it while traveling from the rover's landing site toward a larger crater farther east. This view combines images taken using three of the camera's filters for different wavelengths of light: 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 430 nanometers.
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
Dragging Its Foot
PIA05304
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Mars Orbiter Camera, Panoramic Came …
Title Dragging Its Foot
Original Caption Released with Image This composite image shows a bird's-eye view of the crater occupied by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. A portion of the lander can be seen to the bottom left of the image's circular center. Bounce marks can be seen below and to the top left of the center. The rock outcrop containing many of the rover's rock targets runs from the top right of the image to the left of the image. The rover, which cannot be seen in the image, is located in the southwest quadrant, just left of the lander. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 1 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Traverse Map This composite image (Figure 1) maps the areas traveled by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Dotted lines represent areas the rover has already traveled. Solid lines represent areas still on the rover's travel agenda. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 2 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Future Traverse Map This composite image maps a future travel itinerary for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The rover is currently located at the trench site toward the bottom left of the image. It has already been to the location named "Stone Mountain." Controllers plan to investigate the other labeled areas on the rock outcrop. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide.
Dragging Its Foot
PIA05304
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Mars Orbiter Camera, Panoramic Came …
Title Dragging Its Foot
Original Caption Released with Image This composite image shows a bird's-eye view of the crater occupied by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. A portion of the lander can be seen to the bottom left of the image's circular center. Bounce marks can be seen below and to the top left of the center. The rock outcrop containing many of the rover's rock targets runs from the top right of the image to the left of the image. The rover, which cannot be seen in the image, is located in the southwest quadrant, just left of the lander. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 1 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Traverse Map This composite image (Figure 1) maps the areas traveled by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Dotted lines represent areas the rover has already traveled. Solid lines represent areas still on the rover's travel agenda. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 2 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Future Traverse Map This composite image maps a future travel itinerary for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The rover is currently located at the trench site toward the bottom left of the image. It has already been to the location named "Stone Mountain." Controllers plan to investigate the other labeled areas on the rock outcrop. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide.
Dragging Its Foot
PIA05304
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Mars Orbiter Camera, Panoramic Came …
Title Dragging Its Foot
Original Caption Released with Image This composite image shows a bird's-eye view of the crater occupied by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. A portion of the lander can be seen to the bottom left of the image's circular center. Bounce marks can be seen below and to the top left of the center. The rock outcrop containing many of the rover's rock targets runs from the top right of the image to the left of the image. The rover, which cannot be seen in the image, is located in the southwest quadrant, just left of the lander. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 1 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Traverse Map This composite image (Figure 1) maps the areas traveled by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Dotted lines represent areas the rover has already traveled. Solid lines represent areas still on the rover's travel agenda. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide. Figure 2 (Click on image for larger view) Opportunity Future Traverse Map This composite image maps a future travel itinerary for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The rover is currently located at the trench site toward the bottom left of the image. It has already been to the location named "Stone Mountain." Controllers plan to investigate the other labeled areas on the rock outcrop. Data depicting the inside of the crater wall is from the rover's panoramic camera. Data depicting the outside of the crater wall is from the camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The top of the image faces north, and the image area measures approximately 22 meters (72 feet) wide.
MRPS #80839 (Sol 2) Color mosaic of rover & terrain
The Sojourner rover and undeployed ramps onboard the Mars Pathfin …
7/5/97
Date 7/5/97
Description The Sojourner rover and undeployed ramps onboard the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft can be seen in in this image, by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 4 (Sol 1). This image has been corrected for the curvature created by parallax. The microrover Sojourner is latched to the petal, and has not yet been deployed. The ramps are a pair of deployable metal reels which will provide a track for the rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, over the spacecraft's deflated airbags, and onto the surface of Mars. Pathfinder scientists will use this image to determine whether it is safe to deploy the ramps. One or both of the ramps will be unfurled, and then scientists will decide whether the rover will use either the forward or backward ramp for its descent. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
Rover Camera Mosaic of Lander & Wedge
PIA00903
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Rover Camera Mosaic of Lander & Wedge
Original Caption Released with Image This mosaic of the Mars Pathfinder lander and Martian terrain was taken by the front camera on the Sojourner rover on Sol 39. The rover, positioned near the rock "Wedge" at left, has imaged the letters "JPL" and the American flag mounted on the side of the lander's electronics box. A large spread of deflated airbags are strewn around the lander's periphery, and the large rock Yogi, studied earlier in the mission by Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument, lies behind the airbags in the background. The front rover deployment ramp is at right, while the Imager for Mars Pathfinder mounted on its mast stands high at the top of the lander's electronics box. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vista From 'Lookout' Point
title Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vista From 'Lookout' Point
date 04.29.2005
description From a ridgeline vantage point overlooking slopes, valleys and plains, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned its latest color panorama of the martian landscape. The approximately true color image shows a full 360-degree view from a site informally named "Larry's Lookout," about halfway up "Husband Hill." Dr. Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead scientist for the panoramic cameras on both the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, said, "Spirit and the rover team worked hard over many weeks to get to this vantage point along the flanks of Husband Hill.  The rugged ridge and valley terrain seen here is similar in some respects to the view seen months earlier at the 'West Spur,' but the chemistry and mineralogy here are significantly different. Specifically, some of the areas seen here amid the outcrop rocks and in places where the subsurface was exposed by the rover wheels contain the highest sulfur abundances ever measured by Spirit." The view includes the summit of Husband Hill about 200 meters (about 660 feet) southward and about 45 meters (about 150 feet) higher. As Spirit continues uphill, scientists are looking for evidence about whether the intensity of water- related alteration increases with elevation or whether there are pockets of more heavily altered rocks and soils scattered throughout the hills. Spirit's panoramic camera took more than 300 individual frames between Feb. 27 and March 2 that are combined into the big picture. Downloading the frames to Earth took several weeks, and processing took additional time. Imaging specialists at Cornell and at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., calibrated the color and assembled the image. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, successfully completed three-month primary missions a year ago.  In extended missions since then, they have been exploring at increasing distances from their landing sites. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Spirit's "Lookout" panorama is also available online at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html [ http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html ]and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] .
Flexible Canopy Test
Glenn engineer Christine Pastor is showing an unpacked flexible c …
2/13/09
Description Glenn engineer Christine Pastor is showing an unpacked flexible canopy beside its packed counterpart in NASA Glenn's 10x10 Super Sonic Wind Tunnel. The Flexible Canopy is a scale model of the parachute that will decelerate the Mars Science Laboratory in the upper Martian atmosphere. The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, able to support microbial life. It will carry the biggest, most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. The rover is scheduled to launch in 2011. Photographer: Marvin Smith (WYLE)
Date 2/13/09
Mars 2003 Rover
This artist's rendering shows a view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as …
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. #####
Mars Exploration Rover
PIA04821
Title Mars Exploration Rover
Original Caption Released with Image One of two Mars Exploration Rovers sits inside its cruise stage waiting to undergo environmental testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this photo, engineers are preparing the rover for vibration testing to ensure that it can undergo the rigors of launch and entry into the martian atmosphere. The rovers are scheduled to launch next spring and will arrive at Mars in January 2004.
Mars in Full View
PIA05049
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Mars in Full View
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Mars in Full View (QTVR) This is a medium-resolution version of the first 360-degree panoramic view of the martian surface, taken on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera. Part of the spacecraft can be seen in the lower corner regions. (A higher-resolution image will be made available once it has been processed.)
Spirit Rises to the Occasion (Animation)
PIA05031
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Rises to the Occasion (Animation)
Original Caption Released with Image This animation strings together images from the rover's front hazard avoidance camera taken during the stand-up process of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The first frame shows the rover's wheels tucked under in pre-stand-up position. The following frames show the stages of the stand-up process. The rover first elevates itself and unfolds the wheels. It then lowers, lifts and lowers again into its final position. Note the changing camera perspectives of the martian landscape, indicating the rover's heightened and lowered positions.
Cutting the Cord-2
PIA05052
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Cutting the Cord-2
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the view from the rear hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the rover turns 45 degrees clockwise. This maneuver is the first step in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face west. The rover must make this turn before rolling off the lander because airbags are blocking it from exiting from the front lander petal. Before this crucial turn took place, engineers instructed the rover to cut the final cord linking it to the lander. The turn took around 30 minutes to complete.
Cutting the Cord
PIA05051
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Cutting the Cord
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the view from the front hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the rover turns 45 degrees clockwise. This maneuver is the first step in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face west. The rover must make this turn before rolling off the lander because airbags are blocking it from exiting off the front lander petal. Before this crucial turn could take place, engineers instructed the rover to cut the final cord linking it to the lander. The turn took around 30 minutes to complete.
Continuing the Turn
PIA05068
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Continuing the Turn
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the view from the front hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the rover turns 95 degrees clockwise. This maneuver shows the first and second steps in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face west (the first step previously shown in PIA05051 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05051 ]). The rover must make this turn before rolling off the lander because airbags are blocking it from exiting off the front lander petal. Before starting this maneuver, engineers instructed the rover to cut the final cord linking it to the lander.
Continuing the Turn-2
PIA05088
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Continuing the Turn-2
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the view from the rear hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as the rover turns 95 degrees clockwise. This maneuver shows the first and second steps in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face west (the first step previously shown in PIA05052 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05052 ]) . The rover must make this turn before rolling off the lander because airbags are blocking it from exiting from the front lander petal. Before starting this maneuver, engineers instructed the rover to cut the final cord linking it to the lander.
Rover Family Portrait
title Rover Family Portrait
date 12.05.2002
description Marie Curie, the backup for the 1997 Mars Sojourner rover, sits next to a next-generation Mars Exploration Rover in this December 2002 photo. Sojourner went to Mars as part of the Pathfinder mission, which laid the groundwork for the more advanced Mars Exploration Rovers. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Cape Verde, Mars
This Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Pancam "super resolution" …
4/1/08
Description This Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Pancam "super resolution" mosaic of the approximately 6 meter (20 foot) high cliff face of the Cape Verde promontory was taken by the rover from inside Victoria Crater, during the rover's descent into Duck Bay. Super-resolution is an imaging technique that utilizes information from multiple pictures of the same target in order to generate an image with a higher resolution than any of the individual images. Cape Verde is a geologically rich outcrop and is teaching scientists about how rocks at Victoria crater were modified since they were deposited long ago. This image complements super resolution mosaics obtained at Cape St. Mary and Cape St. Vincent and is consistent with the hypothesis that Victoria crater is located in the middle of what used to be an ancient sand dune field. This image was acquired on sols 1342 and 1356 (Nov. 2 and 17, 2007). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
Date 4/1/08
Rock Garden
This image of a cluster of rocks labeled 'Rock Garden' is where N …
01/04/10
Description This image of a cluster of rocks labeled 'Rock Garden' is where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became embedded in April 2009. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 for what was to be a 90-day mission, but which has lasted 6 Earth years, or 3.2 Mars years. During this time, Spirit has found evidence of a steamy and violent environment on ancient Mars that is quite different from the wet and acidic past documented by Opportunity, which has been operating successfully as it explores halfway around the planet. Spirit used its navigation camera to capture this view of the terrain toward the southeast from the location it reached on the 1,870th Martian day, or sol, on April 7, 2009. Wheels on the western side of the rover broke through the dark, crusty surface into bright, loose, sandy material that was not visible as the rover approached the site. Spirit became stuck in an area near the left of the image's center later in April. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Date 01/04/10
In the Far East
PIA05061
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title In the Far East
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for In the Far East (QTVR) In the distance stand the east hills, which are closest to the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in comparison to other hill ranges seen on the martian horizon. The top of the east hills are approximately 2 to 3 kilometers (1 to 2 miles) away from the rover's approximate location. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rov …
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
Mars Exploration Rover Makes Progress
PIA04820
Title Mars Exploration Rover Makes Progress
Original Caption Released with Image One of two Mars Exploration Rovers sits inside its cruise stage waiting to undergo environmental testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this photo, engineers are preparing the rover for vibration testing to ensure that it can undergo the rigors of launch and entry into the martian atmosphere. The rovers are scheduled to launch next spring and will arrive at Mars in January 2004.
Artist's Concept of Rover on Mars
PIA04413
Title Artist's Concept of Rover on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image An artist's concept portrays a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. Two rovers have been built for 2003 launches and January 2004 arrival at two sites on Mars. Each rover has the mobility and toolkit to function as a robotic geologist.
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
Mars Exploration Rover, Vertical
PIA04928
Title Mars Exploration Rover, Vertical
Original Caption Released with Image December 15, 2003 An artist's concept portrays a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, will reach Mars in January 2004. Each has the mobility and toolkit to function as a robotic geologist. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.
First Look Behind Spirit
PIA04981
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title First Look Behind Spirit
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's rear lander petal and, in the background, the Martian horizon. Spirit took the picture right after successfully landing on the surface of Mars.
NASA KSNN - Mars Rovers
NASA Kids Science News segment explaining what the Mars Rover is …
6/1/03
Description NASA Kids Science News segment explaining what the Mars Rover is and what it did.
Date 6/1/03
Spirit Reaches for Closer Look
PIA05089
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Reaches for Closer Look
Original Caption Released with Image This animation, composed of four images taken by the front hazard-identification camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows the rover stretching out its robotic arm, or instrument deployment device. This is the first use of the arm on Mars to deploy the microscopic imager, one of four geological instruments located on the arm. The first frame shows a clear view of the martian surface in front of the rover before the arm was successfully deployed early Friday morning. The subsequent frames show the arm emerging from its stowed position beneath the "front porch" of the rover body, reaching out, and using the microscopic imager to take close-up images of the martian soil.
Rover Takes a Sunday Drive
PIA05099
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Rover Takes a Sunday Drive
Original Caption Released with Image This animation, made with images from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit hazard-identification camera, shows the rover's perspective of its first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday. Engineers drove Spirit approximately 3 meters (10 feet) toward its first rock target, a football-sized, mountain-shaped rock called Adirondack. The drive took approximately 30 minutes to complete, including time stopped to take images. Spirit first made a series of arcing turns totaling approximately 1 meter (3 feet). It then turned in place and made a series of short, straightforward movements totaling approximately 2 meters (6.5 feet).
A Higher Opportunity
PIA05166
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title A Higher Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image This animation strings together images from the rover's front hazard-identification camera taken during the first half of the stand-up process of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The first frame shows the rover's wheels tucked under in pre-stand-up position. The following frames show the first two stages of the stand-up process, in which the rover elevates itself and unfolds the wheels.
Sojourner Rover View of Platy Fragments near Pop-Tart
PIA01139
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Rover View of Platy Fragments near Pop-Tart
Original Caption Released with Image Sojourner's excavations brought materials to the surface for examination and allowed estimates of the mechanical properties of the deposits. This image is of a 7 cm wide excavation through the veneer of a drift. The platy fragment or piece of crust (upper right) was displaced by the rover wheel. NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Spirit on "Husband Hill," with 2004 Comparison
title Spirit on "Husband Hill," with 2004 Comparison
Description Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. On Nov. 2, 2005, shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image centered on the rover's location in the "Columbia Hills." The location of Spirit on that date is circled on the image on the right. On the left, for comparison, is an image from Jan. 10, 2004, when few dreamed that the Spirit would ever reach the hills from its landing site about three kilometers (two miles) away. The newer image has a resolution of about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) per pixel. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the Mars Exploration Rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., confirmed the location of the rover in the 2005 image. The scale bar is 50 meters (164 feet). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Rover Team
PIA04826
Title Rover Team
Original Caption Released with Image December 5, 2002 Rover team members with Rover.
'Gibson' Panorama by Spirit at 'Home Plate'
PIA02690
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title 'Gibson' Panorama by Spirit at 'Home Plate'
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for 'Gibson' Panorama by Spirit at 'Home Plate' (QTVR) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this high-resolution view of intricately layered exposures of rock while parked on the northwest edge of the bright, semi-circular feature known as "Home Plate." The rover was perched at a 27-degree upward tilt while creating the panorama, resulting in the "U" shape of the mosaic. In reality, the features along the 1-meter to 2-meter (1-foot to 6.5-foot) vertical exposure of the rim of Home Plate in this vicinity are relatively level. Rocks near the rover in this view, known as the "Gibson" panorama, include "Barnhill,""Rogan," and "Mackey." Spirit acquired 246 separate images of this scene using 6 different filters on the panoramic camera (Pancam) during the rover's Martian days, or sols, 748 through 751 (Feb. 9 through Feb. 12, 2006). The field of view covers 160 degrees of terrain around the rover. This image is an approximately true-color rendering using Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-namometer, 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.
95-degree Position on Mars
PIA05067
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title 95-degree Position on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover in its near-final turned position on the lander at Gusev Crater. At this point, the rover has turned 95 degrees, with 115 degrees being its goal position. This picture looks remarkably similar to the image taken during a "dress rehearsal" at the JPL In-Situ Laboratory, or "testbed," prior to the maneuver on Mars.
X-ray Machine on Mars
PIA05196
Sol (our sun)
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Panoramic Camera
Title X-ray Machine on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken at Meridiani Planum, Mars by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The image was acquired on the ninth martian day or sol of the rover's mission.
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's Route in Black and White
PIA07088
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Spirit's Route in Black and White
Original Caption Released with Image The Mars Orbital Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft took this image of the topography traversed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in months prior to the rover's 318th martian day (Dec. 4, 2004). The yellow line traces the rover's path up to and across the "West Spur" of the "Columbia Hills."
Spirit's View Beside 'Home Plate' on Sol 1823
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera t …
4/16/09
Description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images that have been combined into this 180-degree view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,823rd Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's surface mission (Feb. 17, 2009). The center of the view is toward the south-southwest. The rover had driven 23 feet, or 7 meters, eastward earlier on Sol 1823, part of maneuvering to get Spirit into a favorable position for climbing onto the low plateau called 'Home Plate.' However, after two driving attempts with negligible progress during the following three sols, the rover team changed its strategy for getting to destinations south of Home Plate. The team decided to drive Spirit at least partway around Home Plate, instead of ascending the northern edge and taking a shorter route across the top of the plateau. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Date 4/16/09
Rover Team Decides: Safety First
PIA02399
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Rover Team Decides: Safety First
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this view while approaching the northwestern edge of "Home Plate," a circular plateau-like area of bright, layered outcrop material roughly 80 meters (260 feet) in diameter. The images combined into this mosaic were taken by Spirit's navigation camera during the rover's 746th, 748th and 750th Martian days, or sols (Feb. 7, 9 and 11, 2006). With Martian winter closing in, engineers and scientists working with NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit decided to play it safe for the time being rather than attempt to visit the far side of Home Plate in search of rock layers that might show evidence of a past watery environment. This feature has been one of the major milestones of the mission. Though it's conceivable that rock layers might be exposed on the opposite side, sunlight is diminishing on the rover's solar panels and team members chose not to travel in a counterclockwise direction that would take the rover to the west and south slopes of the plateau. Slopes in that direction are hidden from view and team members chose, following a long, thorough discussion, to have the rover travel clockwise and remain on north-facing slopes rather than risk sending the rover deeper into unknown terrain. In addition to studying numerous images from Spirit's cameras, team members studied three-dimensional models created with images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Globel Surveyor orbiter. The models showed a valley on the southern side of Home Plate, the slopes of which might cause the rover's solar panels to lose power for unknown lengths of time. In addition, images from Spirit's cameras showed a nearby, talus-covered section of slope on the west side of Home Plate, rather than exposed rock layers scientists eventually hope to investigate. Home Plate has been on the rover's potential itinerary since the early days of the mission, when it stood out in images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera shortly after the rover landed on Mars. Spirit arrived at Home Plate after traveling 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) across the plains of Gusev Crater, up the slopes of "West Spur" and "Husband Hill," and down again. Scientists are studying the origin of the layering in the outcrop using the Athena science instruments on the rover's arm.
Sojourner Rover Near Half Dome - Right Eye
PIA01559
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Rover Near Half Dome - Right Eye
Original Caption Released with Image Sojourner Rover is seen traversing near Half Dome in this image, taken on Sol 59 by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is the cylindrical object extending from the back of the rover. This image and PIA01558 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01558 ](left eye) make up a stereo pair. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Sojourner Rover Near Half Dome - Left Eye
PIA01558
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Rover Near Half Dome - Left Eye
Original Caption Released with Image Sojourner Rover is seen traversing near Half Dome in this image, taken on Sol 59 by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is the cylindrical object extending from the back of the rover. This image and PIA01559 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01559 ](right eye) make up a stereo pair. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Rover Rehearses Roll-Off at JPL
PIA05087
Title Rover Rehearses Roll-Off at JPL
Original Caption Released with Image Footage from the JPL In-Situ Instruments Laboratory, or "testbed," shows engineers rehearsing a crucial maneuver called egress in which the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit rolls off its lander platform and touches martian soil. Engineers at JPL used a test rover to perform this maneuver as if they were at the rover's landing site, Gusev Crater on Mars. Spirit successfully completed its roll-off early Thursday morning.
Preparing to Test Rover Mobility
PIA07894
Title Preparing to Test Rover Mobility
Original Caption Released with Image Rover engineers prepare a mixture of sandy and powdery materials to simulate some difficult Mars driving conditions inside a facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The tests in early May 2005 were designed to help plan the best way for the rover Opportunity to drive off of a soft-sand dune that the rover dug itself into the previous week.
Rover 1 and Lander
PIA04416
Title Rover 1 and Lander
Original Caption Released with Image A "Martian mechanic" checks beneath the completely deployed Rover 1 lander. Atop the lander is Rover 1 with its wheels and solar arrays in the stowed position.
Heat Shield Ahead
PIA07147
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Heat Shield Ahead
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this image with its panoramic camera when the rover was about 130 meters (427 feet) from its heat shield, during the rover's 322nd sol (Dec. 19, 2004). The protective device shielded the rover from intense frictional heat as it entered the martian atmosphere. The heat shield was shed during the descent and landing sequence, just before the rover (within its folded lander) was lowered on a bridle. Scientists and engineers are interested in seeing what effects the descent had on the heat shield and are directing Opportunity to examine it.
Spirit Stuck in Soft Soil on Mars as Engineers Devise Methods to …
This view from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Ro …
11/2/09
Description This view from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the terrain surrounding the location called "Troy," where Spirit became embedded in soft soil during the spring of 2009. The hundreds of images combined into this view were taken beginning on the 1,906th Martian day (or sol) of Spirit's mission on Mars (May 14, 2009) and ending on Sol 1943 (June 20, 2009). Near the center of the image, in the distance, lies Husband Hill, where Spirit recorded views from the summit in 2005. For scale, the parallel tracks are about 1 meter (39 inches) apart. The track on the right is more evident because Spirit was driving backwards, dragging its right-front wheel, which no longer rotates. The bright soil in the center foreground is soft material in which Spirit became embedded after the wheels on that side cut through a darker top layer. The composition of different layers in the soil at the site became the subject of intense investigation by tools on Spirit's robotic arm. In recent weeks, Engineers have been using test rovers on Earth to prepare for extracting the sand-trapped Spirit rover. While amnesia-like symptoms in recent days might delay the start of planned drives by Spirit geared towards extricating it, the Mars Exploration Rover team remains hopeful. "If they are intermittent and infrequent, they are a nuisance that would set us back a day or two when they occur. If the condition becomes persistent or frequent, we will need to go to an alternate strategy that avoids depending on flash memory, " said Project Manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In these amnesia events, Spirit fails to record data from the day's activities onto the type of computer memory -- non-volatile "flash" memory -- that can retain the data when the rover powers down for its energy-conserving periods of "sleep." Spirit has worked on Mars for more than 69 months in what was originally planned as a three-month mission.
Date 11/2/09
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
Dust Spectra from Above and Below
PIA05030
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Title Dust Spectra from Above and Below
Original Caption Released with Image Spectra of martian dust taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer are compared to that of the orbital Mars Global Surveyor's thermal emission spectrometer. The graph shows that the two instruments are in excellent agreement. Rover Senses Carbon Dioxide Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up the bulk of the thin martian atmosphere. Rover Senses Silicates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of silicates - a group of minerals that form the majority of Earth's crust. Minerals called feldspars and zeolites are likely candidates responsible for this feature. Rover Senses Bound Water Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data acquired on Mars from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signature of an as-of-yet unidentified mineral that contains bound water in its crystal structure. Minerals such as gypsum and zeolites are possible candidates. Rover Senses Carbonates Click on image for larger view This graph, consisting of data from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's mini-thermal emission spectrometer, shows the light, or spectral, signatures of carbonates - minerals common to Earth that form only in water. The detection of trace amounts of carbonates on Mars may be due to an interaction between the water vapor in the atmosphere and minerals on the surface.
MRPS #81008 (Sol 4) Sojourner near Barnacle Bill
Sojourner is visible in this image, one of the first taken by the …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description Sojourner is visible in this image, one of the first taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The rover has moved from this position into one that later facilitated its using the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on Barnacle Bill. The APXS, located at the rear of the rover, is not visible in this image. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
View in Front of Spirit
PIA04979
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title View in Front of Spirit
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's front wheels in stowed configuration.
Spirit Stretches Out
PIA05040
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Stretches Out
Original Caption Released with Image This animation flips back and forth between images taken before and after deployment of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's bogie, a part of the rover's suspension system that extends the wheel base. These images were taken by Spirit's hazard avoidance camera.
Rover 2 Moved to Workstand
PIA04828
Title Rover 2 Moved to Workstand
Original Caption Released with Image January 28, 2003 The Mars Exploration Rover -2 is moved to a workstand in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Set to launch in 2003, the Mars. Exploration Rover Mission will consist of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards (100 meters) each Martian day. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The rovers will be identical to each other, but will land at different regions of Mars. The first rover has a launch window opening May 30, 2003, and the second rover a window opening June 25, 2003.
Sojourner On Mars
Title Sojourner On Mars
Explanation The six wheeled robot rover Mars Sojourner [ http://mars.compuserve.com/ops/rover.html ] rolled onto the martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970705.html ] on July 5th (Sol 2) [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970706.html ] at about 10:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time. This image confirms that its descent down the lander's rear deployment ramp was successful. Click on the image to download a "movie gif" constructed from 9 images taken by the Sagan Memorial Station's IMP camera [ http://mars.compuserve.com/default.html ] which shows the rover rolling down the ramp! The rover moved only a short distance from the ramp and spent the night analyzing the martian soil [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/resources/ mars_data-information/mars_overview.html#Viking Lander sites ] with its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer [ http://mars.compuserve.com/mpf/sci_desc.html#APXS ]. Its next destination will be a tantalizing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970528.html ] rock about 1 foot away that scientists have named "Barnacle Bill". A slow but steady off-road vehicle powered by a 1.9 square foot solar array, the rover can [ http://mars.compuserve.com/rover/sojourner.html ] negotiate obstacles tilted at a 45 degree angle and travels at less than half an inch per second or nearly 0.03 miles per hour.
Sojourner's View: The Sagan Memorial Station
Title Sojourner's View: The Sagan Memorial Station
Explanation The robot rover Sojourner [ http://mars.sgi.com/rover/name.html ] sees Mars from the perspective [ http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/resources/ mars_data-information/mars_overview.html#Viking Lander sites ] of a house cat [ http://pibweb.it.nwu.edu/~pib/catindiv.htm ]. During the 7 month cruise to Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970522.html ] aboard the Pathfinder spacecraft, Sojourner measured only seven inches tall in a stowed position but prowling the martian landscape it has stretched to its full height of 1 foot (30 centimeters). In this mosaic of images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/marsnews/img/81220.txt ] Sojourner's cameras look back on its mother ship, now the Sagan Memorial Station [ http://mars.sgi.com/default.html ], which seems to loom above it. The deployment ramp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970707.html ] is visible along with deflated airbags, instrumentation masts and tracks left in the martian soil by the robot's six cleated 5-inch aluminum wheels. So far the rover has been directed [ http://mars.sgi.com/ops/rover.html ] to analyze soil and the composition of two rocks, Barnacle Bill [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970708.html ] (seen just to the right of the ramp) and Yogi. Human operators select Sojourner's targets but the robot rover [ http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/coolrobots.html ] is relied on to navigate to its destination autonomously [ http://mars.sgi.com/rover/descrip.html ]. Click here to download a movie gif of Sojourner creeping toward Yogi.
Daisy in Full Bloom on "Mazatzal
PIA05673
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Panoramic Camera, Rock A …
Title Daisy in Full Bloom on "Mazatzal
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera shows a daisy pattern created by the rover's rock abrasion tool on the surface of "Mazatzal." The pattern was made as the rover brushed dust off enough area on the rock to match the field of view of the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer instrument.
Do the Hokey Pokey
PIA06268
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Do the Hokey Pokey
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's "dance" into "Endurance Crater." The rover drove forward, back, then forward again, bringing it five meters (16.4 feet) into the crater. Presently, the rover is investigating a flat rock dubbed "Tennessee" with its scientific instruments. The images making up this movie were taken by the rover's front hazard-avoidance camera.
Spirit Looks Back
PIA05082
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Looks Back
Original Caption Released with Image 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.
Opportunity Catches its Shadow on Sol 180
PIA06739
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-identification Camera
Title Opportunity Catches its Shadow on Sol 180
Original Caption Released with Image This self-portrait of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity comes courtesy of the Sun and the rover's front hazard-avoidance camera. The dramatic snapshot of Opportunity's shadow was taken as the rover continues to move farther into "Endurance Crater." The image was taken on sol 180 (July 26, 2004), a date that marks achievement of fully double the rover's primary 90-sol mission.
Turning on Mars
PIA05054
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Turning on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image, taken on Mars, shows the view from the front hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit after the rover has backed up 25 centimeters (10 inches) and turned 45 degrees clockwise. This maneuver is the first step in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face the rear direction and drive off a rear side lander petal. Note that the view in this image matches that of the image taken during rehearsal of this maneuver in the JPL testbed.
X" Marks the Spot
PIA05228
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES), Mars Orbiter Came …
Title X" Marks the Spot
Original Caption Released with Image This map of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's new neighborhood at Meridiani Planum, Mars, shows the surface features used to locate the rover. By imaging these "bumps" on the horizon from the perspective of the rover, mission members were able to pin down the rover's precise location. The image consists of data from the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, the Mars Odyssey orbiter and the descent image motion estimation system located on the bottom of the rover.
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
A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
title A Bird's-Eye View of Erebus
date 11.23.2005
description This false-color view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652 through 663 Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of Erebus Crater. The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
Sojourner Rover Tracks in Compressible Soil
PIA01137
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Rover Tracks in Compressible Soil
Original Caption Released with Image Sojourner's observations in the Ares region on Mars raise and answer questions about the origins of the rocks and other deposits found there. Deposits are not the same everywhere. In compressible soil, a rover wheel produced ruts with steep walls, marginal slumps, and nearly perfect reflective casts of the spacing between the cleats. NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
At the Edge of 'Endurance'
PIA05872
Sol (our sun)
Title At the Edge of 'Endurance'
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the end of its sol 95 drive to the edge of "Endurance Crater." The rover stopped within 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) of the crater's edge on its first approach, seen in this image. The terrain model in this image was generated with a special software program called the Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program. The program is used by rover drivers to simulate and safely plan the rover's approach path. Blank areas in the image denote missing data.
Spirit's Destination (panorama)
PIA05591
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Spirit's Destination (panorama)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Spirit's Destination (panorama) (QTVR) This panoramic image mosaic from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera, shows the rover's destination toward the hills nicknamed the "Columbia Hills," on the right. The rover's heatshield can be seen on the left as a tiny bright dot in the distance, just under the horizon. Dark drift material can be seen in the image center. The rover is currently positioned outside the view of this image, on the right. This image was taken on sols 68 and 69 of Spirit's mission (March 12 and 13, 2004) from the location the rover first reached on the western rim of the crater. The image is in approximate true color, based on a scaling of data from the red, green and blue (750 nanometers, 530 nanometers, and 480 nanometers) filters.
Virtual Rover Deploys Arm
PIA05098
Sol (our sun)
Title Virtual Rover Deploys Arm
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the first patch of soil examined by the rover's microscopic imager. The imager is located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or "arm." The rover can be seen to the right. Engineers first deployed the arm early Friday morning, Jan. 16, 2004.
Simulated View for Rover Activity Planning
PIA03234
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Simulated View for Rover Activity Planning
Original Caption Released with Image The black-and-white base image in this view was taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit with its navigation camera during the rover's 658th Martian day, or sol (Nov. 8, 2005). The location is on the eastern side of "Husband Hill." The superimposed colored lines and computer image of the rover indicate Spirit's path ahead and the intended position at the end of the drive. Rover-team scientists and engineers use this type of simulated image as a help in planning activities for succeeding sols.
Curious Dimples
PIA05718
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Curious Dimples
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's navigation camera was taken on the rover's 71st sol on the red planet. On the previous sol, the rover drove beside a sinuous trough in the plains of Meridiani Planum to get a closer look at its curious dimples. The rover then approached the pictured trough area referred to as "Anatolia." From a distance, the rocks here resemble those in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop. These rocks will be imaged in greater detail with the rover's cameras.
Belly Dancing on Mars
PIA05064
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Belly Dancing on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows a screenshot from the software used by engineers to drive the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The software simulates the rover's movements across the martian terrain, helping to plot a safe course for the rover. The virtual 3-D world around the rover is built from images taken by Spirit's stereo navigation cameras. Regions for which the rover has not yet acquired 3-D data are represented in beige. The red dart to the left shows a target destination for the rover. Red lines indicate the path the rover's wheels will follow to reach the target, and the blue line denotes the path of the rover's "belly button," as engineers like to call it.
Virtual Rover Drives Toward Rock
PIA05101
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Virtual Rover Drives Toward Rock
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows a screenshot from the software used by engineers to test and drive the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The software simulates the rover's movements across the martian terrain, helping to plot a safe course. Here, engineers simulated Spirit's first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday. The 3-meter (10-foot) drive totaled approximately 30 minutes, including time to stop and take images. The rover drove toward its first rock target, a mountain-shaped rock called Adirondack. The blue line denotes the path of the rover's "belly button," as engineers like to call it, as the rover drove toward Adirondack. The virtual 3-D world around the rover was built from images taken by Spirit's stereo navigation cameras. Regions for which the rover has not yet acquired 3-D data are represented in beige.
Pointing at 'Puffin'
PIA06832
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Pointing at 'Puffin'
Original Caption Released with Image The intriguing dunes at the bottom of "Endurance Crater" presented a tantalizing target for the science team for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. After analyzing the soil near and around the dunes, however, the rover engineering team decided that it was too risky to send Opportunity any closer. The terrain between the rover and the dune tendril did not present clear evidence of rocky plates to give the rover sufficient traction. A finger-like dune tendril pictured here (left) is, essentially, pointing to the rover's current area of investigation. Opportunity rolled over the foreground rock, called "Puffin." During the past several sols the rover has been examining its new neighborhood, an area that includes the rocks "Ellesmere" and "Escher" (not pictured) and the soil targets "Shag" and "Auk" (also not pictured). Experiencing significant slippage, the rover did some unintended trenching and left deep tracks in this area. This view is a mosaic of two images taken by the rover's navigation camera on Opportunity's 206th sol on Mars (August 22, 2004) and presented in a perspective projection. Figure 1 is a cylindrical-perspective projection and Figure 2 is a cylindrical perspective.
Pointing at 'Puffin'
PIA06832
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Pointing at 'Puffin'
Original Caption Released with Image The intriguing dunes at the bottom of "Endurance Crater" presented a tantalizing target for the science team for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. After analyzing the soil near and around the dunes, however, the rover engineering team decided that it was too risky to send Opportunity any closer. The terrain between the rover and the dune tendril did not present clear evidence of rocky plates to give the rover sufficient traction. A finger-like dune tendril pictured here (left) is, essentially, pointing to the rover's current area of investigation. Opportunity rolled over the foreground rock, called "Puffin." During the past several sols the rover has been examining its new neighborhood, an area that includes the rocks "Ellesmere" and "Escher" (not pictured) and the soil targets "Shag" and "Auk" (also not pictured). Experiencing significant slippage, the rover did some unintended trenching and left deep tracks in this area. This view is a mosaic of two images taken by the rover's navigation camera on Opportunity's 206th sol on Mars (August 22, 2004) and presented in a perspective projection. Figure 1 is a cylindrical-perspective projection and Figure 2 is a cylindrical perspective.
Pointing at 'Puffin'
PIA06832
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Pointing at 'Puffin'
Original Caption Released with Image The intriguing dunes at the bottom of "Endurance Crater" presented a tantalizing target for the science team for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. After analyzing the soil near and around the dunes, however, the rover engineering team decided that it was too risky to send Opportunity any closer. The terrain between the rover and the dune tendril did not present clear evidence of rocky plates to give the rover sufficient traction. A finger-like dune tendril pictured here (left) is, essentially, pointing to the rover's current area of investigation. Opportunity rolled over the foreground rock, called "Puffin." During the past several sols the rover has been examining its new neighborhood, an area that includes the rocks "Ellesmere" and "Escher" (not pictured) and the soil targets "Shag" and "Auk" (also not pictured). Experiencing significant slippage, the rover did some unintended trenching and left deep tracks in this area. This view is a mosaic of two images taken by the rover's navigation camera on Opportunity's 206th sol on Mars (August 22, 2004) and presented in a perspective projection. Figure 1 is a cylindrical-perspective projection and Figure 2 is a cylindrical perspective.
Spirit on "Husband Hill," with 2004 Comparison
PIA03255
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Spirit on "Husband Hill," with 2004 Comparison
Original Caption Released with Image Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. On Nov. 2, 2005, shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image centered on the rover's location in the "Columbia Hills." The location of Spirit on that date is circled on the image on the right. On the left, for comparison, is an image from Jan. 10, 2004, when few dreamed that the Spirit would ever reach the hills from its landing site about three kilometers (two miles) away. The newer image has a resolution of about 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) per pixel. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. Dr. Timothy J. Parker of the Mars Exploration Rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., confirmed the location of the rover in the 2005 image. The scale bar is 50 meters (164 feet).
MRPS #81088 (Sol 5) Sojourner's APXS at work
The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on So …
7/8/97
Date 7/8/97
Description The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The rover Sojourner has traveled to an area of soil and several rocks. Its tracks are clearly visible in the soft soil seen in the foreground, and were made in part by the rover's material abrasion experiment. Scientists were able to control the force of the rover's cleated wheels to help determine the physical properties of the soil. In this image, Sojourner is using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study an area of soil. Sunlight is striking the area from the left, creating shadows under Sojourner and at the right of local rocks. The large rock Yogi can be seen at upper right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
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
Sojourner Rover View of Pathfinder Lander
PIA01121
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Rover View of Pathfinder Lander
Original Caption Released with Image Image of Pathfinder Lander on Mars taken from Sojourner Rover left front camera on sol 33. The IMP (on the lattice mast) is looking at the rover. Airbags are prominent, and the meteorology mast is shown to the right. Lowermost rock is Ender, with Hassock behind it and Yogi on the other side of the lander. NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine
Rovers and Sojourner
PIA04422
Title Rovers and Sojourner
Original Caption Released with Image The twin rovers of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission pose with their groundbreaking predecessor, the flight spare of the Sojourner rover from NASA's 1997 Pathfinder mission.
19) Communications Relay for Mars Landers and Rovers:
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.
Challenger Memorial Station, Meridiani Planum, Mars
PIA05165
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES), Mars Orbiter Came …
Title Challenger Memorial Station, Meridiani Planum, Mars
Original Caption Released with Image A composite image reveals the local region surrounding the Challenger Memorial Station [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05150 ]. The image is actually an amalgamation of a Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera image and the third and final picture taken by Opportunity's DIMES camera ( Descent Image Motion Estimation System) during descent. The location of the site is a 20-meter (65.6 foot) wide, 2-meter (6.6 foot) deep crater somewhere in this composite image. The final crew of the space shuttle Challenger was lost when the shuttle suffered an in-flight breakup during launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Figure 1"Opportunity's Turf" April 8, 2004 This map highlights the past and future stomping grounds of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. "Eagle Crater" is the small crater where the rover landed over two months ago. "Anatolia," named after the Anatolian fault system in Turkey, is the trough the rover is currently investigating. "Endurance" is the large crater the rover will travel toward in coming sols. The underlying image was taken by the camera onboard the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
Challenger Memorial Station, Meridiani Planum, Mars
PIA05165
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES), Mars Orbiter Came …
Title Challenger Memorial Station, Meridiani Planum, Mars
Original Caption Released with Image A composite image reveals the local region surrounding the Challenger Memorial Station [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05150 ]. The image is actually an amalgamation of a Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera image and the third and final picture taken by Opportunity's DIMES camera ( Descent Image Motion Estimation System) during descent. The location of the site is a 20-meter (65.6 foot) wide, 2-meter (6.6 foot) deep crater somewhere in this composite image. The final crew of the space shuttle Challenger was lost when the shuttle suffered an in-flight breakup during launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Figure 1"Opportunity's Turf" April 8, 2004 This map highlights the past and future stomping grounds of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. "Eagle Crater" is the small crater where the rover landed over two months ago. "Anatolia," named after the Anatolian fault system in Turkey, is the trough the rover is currently investigating. "Endurance" is the large crater the rover will travel toward in coming sols. The underlying image was taken by the camera onboard the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
Airbags and Sojourner Rover
PIA00614
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Airbags and Sojourner Rover
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) camera shows the rear part of the Sojourner rover, the rolled-up rear ramp, and portions of the partially deflated airbags. The Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer instrument is protruding from the rear (right side) of the rover. The airbags behind the rover are presently blocking the ramp from being safely unfurled. The ramps are a pair of deployable metal reels that will provide a track for the rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, and onto the surface of Mars, once Pathfinder scientists determine it is safe to do so. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
PIA07192
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
Original Caption Released with Image The three-frame set in figure 2 is a segmented version of the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The images were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. North is up. The location of Spirit's lander, parachute, and backshell are indicated in frame A, and the rover track down toward the Columbia Hills can be traced through A, B, and C. In frame A, "Bonneville Crater" is the largest crater. Spirit drove up to Bonneville's rim and looked inside before driving away toward the southeast. The base of the Columbia Hills is seen in the lower right quarter of frame C. In frame B, notice that the rover track followed along the edge of a lighter-toned streak and wider dark streak, believed to have been formed by a dust devil before Spirit landed. The proximity of the rover to this streak was not recognized in rover images., Wheel tracks left by the NASA rover Spirit's 3-kilometer (2-mile) trek from its landing site to the "Columbia Hills" are visible in this orbital view from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Spirit's rover track shows up nicely from orbit because the surfaces disrupted and churned by the wheels are darker than the surrounding, dust-coated plain. North is up. The largest crater in the view, dubbed "Bonneville Crater," is about 210 meters (230 yards) in diameter. The picture is a composite of Mars Orbiter Camera image R15-02643, taken on March 30, 2004, when Spirit was near the south rim of Bonneville Crater, and image R20-01024, taken Aug. 18, 2004, when Spirit was climbing the hills' western spur, seen in the picture's bottom right corner. "New Dark Streak Near Spirit" In figure 1, frames taken from orbit 20 weeks apart (top pair) and by the NASA rover Spirit at ground level (bottom) show the formation of a new dark streak on the ground in the area where Spirit was driving inside Mars' Gusev Crater in April 2004. The new dark streak and other dark streaks in the area are believed to result from dust devils removing brighter dust from the surface. The upper frames were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. They are from the same pair of images combined to create the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The orbiter took the upper-left picture on March 30, 2004 (Spirit's 85th martian day, or sol). It took the upper-right picture on Aug. 18, 2004 (Spirit's sol 223). A dark streak occurs in the larger crater in the lower right quarter of the August image. This streak was not present when the March image was obtained. Inspection of the lower image, which was taken by Spirit's navigation camera when the rover was at the rim of this crater on sol 106 (April 20, 2004), reveals that the streak was present by then. Thus, the dust devil must have occurred some time between March 30 and April 20. The dust devil was not observed by the rover. In addition to the formation of this dark streak, another change seems to have occurred at the landing site. The rover track between the lander and Bonneville Crater seems to have faded between March 30 and Aug. 18. This could be an artifact of the different sunlight illumination conditions between the two images, or it may indicate that fine dust settled on the older portions of the track, obscuring it. The Mars Orbiter Camera team plans to re-visit the Spirit lander site from time to time to see what other changes may occur. "Orbital View of Spirit's Neighborhood"
Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
PIA07192
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
Original Caption Released with Image The three-frame set in figure 2 is a segmented version of the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The images were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. North is up. The location of Spirit's lander, parachute, and backshell are indicated in frame A, and the rover track down toward the Columbia Hills can be traced through A, B, and C. In frame A, "Bonneville Crater" is the largest crater. Spirit drove up to Bonneville's rim and looked inside before driving away toward the southeast. The base of the Columbia Hills is seen in the lower right quarter of frame C. In frame B, notice that the rover track followed along the edge of a lighter-toned streak and wider dark streak, believed to have been formed by a dust devil before Spirit landed. The proximity of the rover to this streak was not recognized in rover images., Wheel tracks left by the NASA rover Spirit's 3-kilometer (2-mile) trek from its landing site to the "Columbia Hills" are visible in this orbital view from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Spirit's rover track shows up nicely from orbit because the surfaces disrupted and churned by the wheels are darker than the surrounding, dust-coated plain. North is up. The largest crater in the view, dubbed "Bonneville Crater," is about 210 meters (230 yards) in diameter. The picture is a composite of Mars Orbiter Camera image R15-02643, taken on March 30, 2004, when Spirit was near the south rim of Bonneville Crater, and image R20-01024, taken Aug. 18, 2004, when Spirit was climbing the hills' western spur, seen in the picture's bottom right corner. "New Dark Streak Near Spirit" In figure 1, frames taken from orbit 20 weeks apart (top pair) and by the NASA rover Spirit at ground level (bottom) show the formation of a new dark streak on the ground in the area where Spirit was driving inside Mars' Gusev Crater in April 2004. The new dark streak and other dark streaks in the area are believed to result from dust devils removing brighter dust from the surface. The upper frames were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. They are from the same pair of images combined to create the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The orbiter took the upper-left picture on March 30, 2004 (Spirit's 85th martian day, or sol). It took the upper-right picture on Aug. 18, 2004 (Spirit's sol 223). A dark streak occurs in the larger crater in the lower right quarter of the August image. This streak was not present when the March image was obtained. Inspection of the lower image, which was taken by Spirit's navigation camera when the rover was at the rim of this crater on sol 106 (April 20, 2004), reveals that the streak was present by then. Thus, the dust devil must have occurred some time between March 30 and April 20. The dust devil was not observed by the rover. In addition to the formation of this dark streak, another change seems to have occurred at the landing site. The rover track between the lander and Bonneville Crater seems to have faded between March 30 and Aug. 18. This could be an artifact of the different sunlight illumination conditions between the two images, or it may indicate that fine dust settled on the older portions of the track, obscuring it. The Mars Orbiter Camera team plans to re-visit the Spirit lander site from time to time to see what other changes may occur. "Orbital View of Spirit's Neighborhood"
Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
PIA07192
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Wheel Tracks from Landing Site to Hills
Original Caption Released with Image The three-frame set in figure 2 is a segmented version of the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The images were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. North is up. The location of Spirit's lander, parachute, and backshell are indicated in frame A, and the rover track down toward the Columbia Hills can be traced through A, B, and C. In frame A, "Bonneville Crater" is the largest crater. Spirit drove up to Bonneville's rim and looked inside before driving away toward the southeast. The base of the Columbia Hills is seen in the lower right quarter of frame C. In frame B, notice that the rover track followed along the edge of a lighter-toned streak and wider dark streak, believed to have been formed by a dust devil before Spirit landed. The proximity of the rover to this streak was not recognized in rover images., Wheel tracks left by the NASA rover Spirit's 3-kilometer (2-mile) trek from its landing site to the "Columbia Hills" are visible in this orbital view from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Spirit's rover track shows up nicely from orbit because the surfaces disrupted and churned by the wheels are darker than the surrounding, dust-coated plain. North is up. The largest crater in the view, dubbed "Bonneville Crater," is about 210 meters (230 yards) in diameter. The picture is a composite of Mars Orbiter Camera image R15-02643, taken on March 30, 2004, when Spirit was near the south rim of Bonneville Crater, and image R20-01024, taken Aug. 18, 2004, when Spirit was climbing the hills' western spur, seen in the picture's bottom right corner. "New Dark Streak Near Spirit" In figure 1, frames taken from orbit 20 weeks apart (top pair) and by the NASA rover Spirit at ground level (bottom) show the formation of a new dark streak on the ground in the area where Spirit was driving inside Mars' Gusev Crater in April 2004. The new dark streak and other dark streaks in the area are believed to result from dust devils removing brighter dust from the surface. The upper frames were taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. They are from the same pair of images combined to create the orbital view of the NASA rover Spirit's trail from the rover's landing site to the "Columbia Hills." The orbiter took the upper-left picture on March 30, 2004 (Spirit's 85th martian day, or sol). It took the upper-right picture on Aug. 18, 2004 (Spirit's sol 223). A dark streak occurs in the larger crater in the lower right quarter of the August image. This streak was not present when the March image was obtained. Inspection of the lower image, which was taken by Spirit's navigation camera when the rover was at the rim of this crater on sol 106 (April 20, 2004), reveals that the streak was present by then. Thus, the dust devil must have occurred some time between March 30 and April 20. The dust devil was not observed by the rover. In addition to the formation of this dark streak, another change seems to have occurred at the landing site. The rover track between the lander and Bonneville Crater seems to have faded between March 30 and Aug. 18. This could be an artifact of the different sunlight illumination conditions between the two images, or it may indicate that fine dust settled on the older portions of the track, obscuring it. The Mars Orbiter Camera team plans to re-visit the Spirit lander site from time to time to see what other changes may occur. "Orbital View of Spirit's Neighborhood"
Heading Toward 'Von Braun' Mound
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera t …
5/27/09
Description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to capture this view of the terrain toward the southeast from the location Spirit reached...
Date 5/27/09
Spirit's Express Route to 'Columbia Hills'
PIA05834
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera, Thermal Emission Imaging System
Title Spirit's Express Route to 'Columbia Hills'
Original Caption Released with Image This map illustrates the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's position as of sol 112 (April 26, 2004), near the crater called "Missoula." Like a train on a tight schedule, Spirit will make regular stops along the way to its ultimate destination, the "Columbia Hills." At each stop, or "station," the rover will briefly analyze the area's rocks and soils. Each tick mark on the rover's route represents one sol's worth of travel, or about 60 to 70 meters (200 to 230 feet). Rover planners estimate that Spirit will reach the hills around mid-June. Presently, the rover is stopped at a site called "Plains Station." The color thermal data show how well different surface features hold onto heat. Red indicates warmth, blue indicates coolness. Areas with higher temperatures are more likely to be rocky, as rocks absorb heat. Lower temperatures denote small particles and fewer rocks. During its traverse, Spirit will document the causes of these temperature variations. The map comprises data from the camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter and the thermal emission imaging system on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Air Bag Installation
PIA04852
Title Air Bag Installation
Original Caption Released with Image May 10, 2003Prelaunch at Kennedy Space Center On Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-1) , air bags are installed on the lander. The airbags will inflate to cushion the landing of the spacecraft on the surface of Mars. When it stops bouncing and rolling, the airbags will deflate and retract, the petals will open to bring the lander to an upright position, and the rover will be exposed. NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers are designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-1 is scheduled to launch June 25 as MER-B aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
New Look at "Endurance" via Mars Express
PIA06758
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title New Look at "Endurance" via Mars Express
Original Caption Released with Image This view of the interior slope and rim of "Endurance Crater" comes from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity with an assist from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. Opportunity took the three frames that make up this image on the rover's 188th martian day (Aug. 4, 2004), before transmitting this and other data to Mars Express. The orbiter then relayed the data to Earth. Rover wheel tracks are visible in the foreground.
Mars Exploration Rover
title Mars Exploration Rover
date 12.15.2003
description An artist's concept portrays a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunitylanded on Mars in January 2004. Each has the mobility and toolkit to function as a robotic geologist. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell University/Maas Digital
MRPS #81009 (Sol 4) Yogi the rock
Yogi, a rock taller than rover Sojourner, is the subject of this …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description Yogi, a rock taller than rover Sojourner, is the subject of this image, taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The soil in the foreground will be the location of multiple soil mechanics experiments performed by Sojourner's cleated wheels. Pathfinder scientists will be able to control the force inflicted on the soil beneath the rover's wheels, giving them insight into the soil's mechanical properties. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Patches of Hematite
PIA05549
Sol (our sun)
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Navigation Camera
Title Patches of Hematite
Original Caption Released with Image These maps, acquired from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity prior to the rover's roll-off, are shown along with data collected at the five locations the rover visited along the Meridiani Planum rock outcrop (dubbed "Alpha,""Bravo,""Charlie," Delta," and "Echo"). The data, collected by the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, has been superimposed on images taken by the navigation camera. The areas investigated are different sizes because of the differing distances from the rover. The bright red region behind the rover has one of the highest hematite concentrations observed in the crater. The areas on the floor of the crater and in the outcrop that the rover has been sampling have much lower hematite concentrations than those found on the surrounding plains. Data from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer show that the floor of the crater is covered with basaltic sand.
Grooving in Trenchtown
PIA05323
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Grooving in Trenchtown
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's arm exploring the trench the rover dug with one of its wheels. The arm, or instrument deployment device, holds a suite of scientific instruments designed to examine rocks and soil for signs of past water on Mars. The movie was made from images taken by the rover's hazard-avoidance camera.
Mind of Its Own
PIA05268
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Mind of Its Own
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the path the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit traveled during its 24-meter (78.7-foot) autonomous drive across the bumpy terrain at Gusev Crater, Mars, on the 39th day, or sol, of its mission. The colored data are from the rover's hazard-avoidance camera and have been reconstructed to show the topography of the land. Red areas indicate extremely hazardous terrain, and green patches denote safe, smooth ground. At the end of its drive, Spirit decided it was safer to back up then go forward. The rover is now positioned directly in front of its target, a rock dubbed Stone Council.
Peeling Back the Layers of Mars
PIA05306
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Peeling Back the Layers of Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This is a 3-D model of the trench excavated by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the 23rd day, or sol, of its mission. An oblique view of the trench from a bit above and to the right of the rover's right wheel is shown. The model was generated from images acquired by the rover's front hazard-avoidance cameras.
Rear View of Opportunity's Drive
PIA05214
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Rear View of Opportunity's Drive
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the rear view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it drives north away from the lander and towards the eastern edge of the rock outcropping near its landing site at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The movie strings together images taken over the past six martian days, or sols, of its journey, beginning with a 1 meter (3 feet) stroll away from the lander on sol 7. On the 12th sol, Opportunity drove another 3 1/2 meters (11 feet), and then, one sol later, another 1 1/2 meters (5 feet). On its way, the rover twisted and turned in a test of its driving capabilities. This movie is made-up of fish-eye images taken by the rover's rear hazard-identification camera.
Forging Ahead
PIA05215
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Forging Ahead
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the front view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it drives north towards the eastern edge of the rock outcropping near its landing site at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The movie strings together images taken over the past six martian days, or sols, of its journey, beginning with a 1 meter (3 feet) stroll away from the lander on sol 7. On the 12th sol, Opportunity drove another 3 1/2 meters (11 feet), and then, one sol later, another 1 1/2 meters (5 feet). On its way, the rover twisted and turned in a test of its driving capabilities. This movie is made up of fish-eye images taken by the rover's front hazard-identification camera.
Forging Ahead (linearized)
PIA05211
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Forging Ahead (linearized)
Original Caption Released with Image This animation shows the front view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it drives north towards the eastern edge of the rock outcropping near its landing site at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The movie strings together images taken over the past six martian days, or sols, of its journey, beginning with a 1 meter (3 feet) stroll away from the lander on sol 7. On the 12th sol, Opportunity drove another 3 1/2 meters (11 feet), and then, one sol later, another 1 1/2 meters (5 feet). On its way, the rover twisted and turned in a test of its driving capabilities. This movie is made up of images taken by the rover's front hazard-identification camera, which were corrected for fish-eye distortion.
90 Sols in 90 Seconds
PIA05724
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Microscopic Imager
Title 90 Sols in 90 Seconds
Original Caption Released with Image In 90 martian days, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has performed a remarkable series of drives, digs and scientific investigations at Gusev Crater, Mars. This video documents many of the rover's accomplishments by stringing together images taken throughout the mission by the rover's front hazard-avoidance camera and microscopic imager instrument.
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
Spirit Reaches Out
title Spirit Reaches Out
date 01.16.2004
description This animation, composed of four images taken by the front hazard-identification camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows the rover stretching out its robotic arm, or instrument deployment device. This is the first use of the arm on Mars to deploy the microscopic imager, one of four geological instruments located on the arm. The first frame shows a clear view of the martian surface in front of the rover before the arm was successfully deployed early Friday morning. The subsequent frames show the arm emerging from its stowed position beneath the "front porch" of the rover body, reaching out, and using the microscopic imager to take close-up images of the martian soil. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/US Geological Survey
Over the Rover
PIA05151
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Over the Rover
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been projected to show an overhead perspective of the rover. This image was taken shortly after the rover touched down at Meridiani Planum, Mars, at approximately 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 24.
A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater'
PIA05633
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater'
Original Caption Released with Image This is the 3-D version of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left "Eagle Crater." To the right, the rover tracks are visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit the crater. After a one-sol delay, Opportunity took another route to the plains of Meridiani Planum. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera.
A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater' (right-eye)
PIA05631
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater' (right-eye)
Original Caption Released with Image This is the right-eye version of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left its landing-site crater. To the right, the rover tracks are visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit the crater. After a one-sol delay, Opportunity took another route to the plains of Meridiani Planum. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera.
A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater' (left-eye)
PIA05632
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater' (left-eye)
Original Caption Released with Image This is the left-eye version of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left its landing-site crater. To the right, the rover tracks are visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit the crater. After a one-sol delay, Opportunity took another route to the plains of Meridiani Planum. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera.
Ring Around the Rover
PIA05150
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Ring Around the Rover
Original Caption Released with Image This polar projection of an image from the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows an overhead perspective of the rover. Opportunity's view of the martian horizon can also be seen in this image, taken shortly after the rover touched down at Meridiani Planum, Mars at 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Eagle-eye View of "Eagle Crater
PIA05636
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Eagle-eye View of "Eagle Crater
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left its landing-site crater. To the right, the rover tracks are visible at the original spot where the rover attempted unsuccessfully to exit the crater. After a one-sol delay, Opportunity took another route to the plains of Meridiani Planum. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera.
Sojourner Rover View of Pathfinder Lander
title Sojourner Rover View of Pathfinder Lander
Description Image of Pathfinder Lander on Mars taken from Sojourner Rover left front camera on sol 33. The IMP (on the lattice mast) is looking at the rover. Airbags are prominent, and the meteorology mast is shown to the right. Lowermost rock is Ender, with Hassock behind it and Yogi on the other side of the lander. NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine Science Magazine, Volume 278, Number 5344, 5 December 1997, 'Overview of the Mars Pathfinder Mission and Assessment of Landing Site Predictions' (Fig. 2)
Spirit Tracks on Mars, Sol 151
PIA06052
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Spirit Tracks on Mars, Sol 151
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Spirit Tracks on Mars, Sol 151 (QTVR) This cylindrical projection mosaic was created from navigation camera images acquired by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during Spirit's 151st martian day, or sol, on June 5, 2004. The rover sits at site 63, still more than 100 meters (328 feet) from the base of the "Columbia Hills." As suggested by the rover tracks fading off in the distance, Spirit made great progress on this sol, roving 73 meters (240 feet) to get to this point.
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation)
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
Title Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera.
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation)
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
Title Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation)
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera.
What Time is it on Mars?
PIA05017
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title What Time is it on Mars?
Original Caption Released with Image This image of the martian sundial onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit was processed by students in the Red Rover Goes to Mars program to impose hour markings on the face of the dial. The position of the shadow of the sundial's post within the markings indicates the time of day and the season, which in this image is 12:17 p.m. local solar time, late summer. A team of 16 students from 12 countries were selected by the Planetary Society to participate in this program. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Right on Target
Title Right on Target
Description This map shows the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Engineers targeted Spirit for the center of the blue ellipse. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white dot. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous terrain outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor.
Date 01.13.2004
Right on Target-2
Title Right on Target-2
Description This map shows a close-up look at the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white dot. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous craters outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor.
Date 01.13.2004
Spirit's Neighborhood in 'Columbia Hills,' in Stereo
title Spirit's Neighborhood in 'Columbia Hills,' in Stereo
Description Two Earth years ago, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit touched down in Gusev Crater. The rover marked its first Mars-year (687 Earth days) anniversary in November 2005. On Nov. 2, 2005, shortly before Spirit's Martian anniversary, the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor acquired an image covering approximately 3 kilometers by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles by 1.9 miles) centered on the rover's location in the "Columbia Hills." The tinted portion of this image gives a stereo, three-dimensional view when observed through 3-D glasses with a red left eye and blue right eye. The tallest peak is "Husband Hill," which was climbed by Spirit during much of 2005. The region south (toward the bottom) of these images shows the area where the rover is currently headed. The large dark patch and other similar dark patches in these images are accumulations of windblown sand and granules. North is up, illumination is from the left. The location is near 14.8 degrees south latitude, 184.6 degrees west longitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Spirit's Course
PIA06691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Spirit's Course
Original Caption Released with Image This digital elevation map shows the topography of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb to the front hill, called "West Spur." The black line in the middle of the image represents the rover's traverse path, which starts at "Hank's Hollow" and ends at the top of "West Spur." Scientists are sending Spirit up the hill to investigate the interesting rock outcrops visible in images taken by the rover. Data from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 1, the digital map shows the slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Colors indicate the slopes of the hills, with red areas being the gentlest and blue the steepest. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb the front hill, called "West Spur." The path is indicated here with a curved black line. Stereo images from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 2, the map shows the north-facing slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Bright areas indicate surfaces sloping more toward the north than dark areas. To reach the rock outcrop at the top of the hill, engineers will aim to drive the rover around the dark areas, which would yield less solar power. The curved black line in the middle represents the rover's planned traverse path.
Spirit's Course
PIA06691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Spirit's Course
Original Caption Released with Image This digital elevation map shows the topography of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb to the front hill, called "West Spur." The black line in the middle of the image represents the rover's traverse path, which starts at "Hank's Hollow" and ends at the top of "West Spur." Scientists are sending Spirit up the hill to investigate the interesting rock outcrops visible in images taken by the rover. Data from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 1, the digital map shows the slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Colors indicate the slopes of the hills, with red areas being the gentlest and blue the steepest. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb the front hill, called "West Spur." The path is indicated here with a curved black line. Stereo images from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 2, the map shows the north-facing slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Bright areas indicate surfaces sloping more toward the north than dark areas. To reach the rock outcrop at the top of the hill, engineers will aim to drive the rover around the dark areas, which would yield less solar power. The curved black line in the middle represents the rover's planned traverse path.
Spirit's Course
PIA06691
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Spirit's Course
Original Caption Released with Image This digital elevation map shows the topography of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb to the front hill, called "West Spur." The black line in the middle of the image represents the rover's traverse path, which starts at "Hank's Hollow" and ends at the top of "West Spur." Scientists are sending Spirit up the hill to investigate the interesting rock outcrops visible in images taken by the rover. Data from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 1, the digital map shows the slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Colors indicate the slopes of the hills, with red areas being the gentlest and blue the steepest. Rover planners have plotted the safest route for Spirit to climb the front hill, called "West Spur." The path is indicated here with a curved black line. Stereo images from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map. In figure 2, the map shows the north-facing slopes of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's current position. Bright areas indicate surfaces sloping more toward the north than dark areas. To reach the rock outcrop at the top of the hill, engineers will aim to drive the rover around the dark areas, which would yield less solar power. The curved black line in the middle represents the rover's planned traverse path.
Rover Does a Wheelie
PIA04317
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Rover Does a Wheelie
Original Caption Released with Image During a soil mechanics experiment, the rover does a wheelie, lifting its front left wheel into the air.
Opportunity Digs
PIA05309
Sol (our sun)
Title Opportunity Digs
Original Caption Released with Image This image is a screenshot from a computer-generated animation showing the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity trenching a hole in the sandy soil at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Data taken during trenching by the rover's onboard sensors were used to create the movie.
As Far as Opportunity's Eye Can See
PIA05199
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title As Far as Opportunity's Eye Can See
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for As Far as Opportunity's Eye Can See (QTVR) This expansive view of the martian real estate surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is the first 360 degree, high-resolution color image taken by the rover's panoramic camera. The airbag marks, or footprints, seen in the soil trace the route by which Opportunity rolled to its final resting spot inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The exposed rock outcropping is a future target for further examination. This image mosaic consists of 225 individual frames.
Airbag Deflates on Mars
PIA05002
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Airbag Deflates on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image, taken by the navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows the airbags used to protect the rover during landing. One bright, dust-covered bag is slightly puffed up against the lander.
MRPS #80911 (Sol 2) Rover touchdown on Martian surface
This picture taken by the IMP (Imager for Mars Pathfinder) aboard …
7/5/97
Date 7/5/97
Description This picture taken by the IMP (Imager for Mars Pathfinder) aboard the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft depicts the rover Sojourner's position after driving onto the Martian surface. Sojourner has become the first autonomous robot ever to traverse the surface of Mars. This image reflects the success of Pathfinder's principle objective -- to place a payload on Mars in a safe, operational configuration. The primary mission of Sojourner, scheduled to last seven days, will be to use its Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to determine the elements that make up the rocks and soil on Mars. A full study using the APXS takes approximately ten hours, and can measure all elements except hydrogen at any time of the Martian day or night. The APXS will conduct its studies by bombarding rocks and soil samples with alpha particle radiation -- charged particles equivalent to the nucleus of a helium atom, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. #####
Opportunity Egress Practice in ISIL
MER Egress test in JPL's In-Situ Instrument Laboratory in prepara …
1/31/04
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
Windows to Meridiani's Water-Soaked Past
PIA05504
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Title Windows to Meridiani's Water-Soaked Past
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the two holes that allowed scientists to peer into Meridiani Planum's wet past. The rover drilled the holes into rocks in the region dubbed "El Capitan" with its rock abrasion tool. By analyzing the freshly exposed rock with the rover's suite of scientific instruments, scientists gathered evidence that this part of Mars may have once been drenched in water. The lower hole, located on a target called "McKittrick," was made on the 30th martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's journey. The upper hole, located on a target called "Guadalupe" was made on the 34th sol of the rover's mission. This image was taken on the 35th martian day, or sol, by the rover's hazard-avoidance camera. The rock abrasion tool and scientific instruments are located on the rover's robotic arm.
FIDO Rover
Title FIDO Rover
Full Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is at a geologically interesting site in central Nevada while it is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO uses a robot arm to manipulate science instruments and it has a new mini-corer or drill to extract and cache rock samples. Several camera systems onboard allow the rover to collect science and navigation images by remote-control. The rover is about the size of a coffee table and weighs as much as a St. Bernard, about 70 kilograms (150 pounds). It is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves up to 300 meters an hour (less than a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles as it travels "on-the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries.
Date 04/01/1999
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
FIDO Rover Retracted Arm and Camera
Title FIDO Rover Retracted Arm and Camera
Full Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover extends the large mast that carries its panoramic camera. The FIDO is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO uses a robot arm to manipulate science instruments and it has a new mini-corer or drill to extract and cache rock samples. Several camera systems onboard allow the rover to collect science and navigation images by remote-control. The rover is about the size of a coffee table and weighs as much as a St. Bernard, about 70 kilograms (150 pounds). It is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves up to 300 meters an hour (less than a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles as it travels "on-the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries.
Date 04/01/1999
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pathfinder Landing
This photo shows Mars Pathfinder's configuration shortly after la …
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.
Turning in the Testbed
PIA05053
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Turning in the Testbed
Original Caption Released with Image This image, taken in the JPL In-Situ Instruments Laboratory or "Testbed," shows the view from the front hazard avoidance cameras on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit after the rover has backed up and turned 45 degrees counterclockwise. Engineers rehearsed this maneuver at JPL before performing it on Mars. This maneuver is the first step in a 3-point turn that will rotate the rover 115 degrees to face the rear direction and drive off a rear side lander petal.
Panoramic View of Lander During Turn
PIA05083
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Panoramic View of Lander During Turn
Original Caption Released with Image This 360-degree panoramic mosaic image composed of data from the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a view of the lander from under the rover deck. The images were taken as the rover turned from its landing position 95 degrees toward the northwest side of the lander.
Farewell Glance at 'Endurance'
PIA07112
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Avoidance Camera
Title Farewell Glance at 'Endurance'
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity climbed out of "Endurance Crater" during the rover's 315th sol (Dec. 12, 2004), and used its front hazard-avoidance camera to look back across the crater from the rim. The rover spent just over six months inside the stadium-sized crater, examining in detail the tallest stack of bedrock layers ever seen up close on a foreign planet.
Roll-Off Dress Rehearsal at JPL
PIA05065
Title Roll-Off Dress Rehearsal at JPL
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows a test rover as it attempts a complete 115-degree turn on the lander in the JPL In-Situ Instruments Laboratory, or "testbed." This is where engineers tested the rover's three-point turn before completing the manuever with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at Gusev Crater on Mars. At this point, the test rover has turned 95 degrees, with 115 degrees being its goal position.
Rover 1 in Cruise Stage
PIA04414
Title Rover 1 in Cruise Stage
Original Caption Released with Image Rover 1 sits atop the deployed lander with its solar arrays and wheels stowed.
Rover Family Photo
PIA04421
Title Rover Family Photo
Original Caption Released with Image Members of the Mars Exploration Rovers Assembly, Test and Launch Operations team gather around Rover 2 and its predecessor, a flight spare of the Pathfinder mission's Sojourner rover, named Marie Curie.
Rover 1 and Lander
PIA04417
Title Rover 1 and Lander
Original Caption Released with Image Rover 1 sits atop the deployed lander with its solar arrays and wheels stowed.
2 Stages of Deployment
PIA04424
Title 2 Stages of Deployment
Original Caption Released with Image The twin rovers sit side-by-side in different stages of deployment. Rover 2's (left) front wheels are stowed, while Rover 1's front wheels are deployed.
Meridiani Planum in View
PIA05139
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Meridiani Planum in View
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows 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 night at approximately 9:05 PST. The image was taken by the rover's navigation camera.
A Flyby Tour of Spirit's Descent
PIA05129
Sol (our sun)
Title A Flyby Tour of Spirit's Descent
Original Caption Released with Image Telemetry sent down to Earth from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been reconstructed to create a reenactment of the rover's final 30 seconds before landing at Gusev Crater, Mars. This image is a still from that movie. Just seconds before the rover touched down and its airbags were inflated, a gust of wind threatened to significantly increase the rover's horizontal speed. But the firing of a lateral rocket, called the Tranverse Impulse Rocket System (blue), kept the rover on course, orienting the main retrorockets (white) to the their correct upright position. Subsequent igniting of these rockets reduced the rover's speed to near zero, 23 feet (7 meters) above the martian surface. The colored bars to the right indicate Spirit's north, east and downward velocities. The telemetry was acquired through the Mars Global Surveyor.
A Flyby Tour of Spirit's Descent-2
PIA05130
Sol (our sun)
Title A Flyby Tour of Spirit's Descent-2
Original Caption Released with Image Telemetry sent down to Earth from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been reconstructed to create this computer-generated movie of the rover's final 30 seconds before landing at Gusev Crater, Mars. Just seconds before the rover touched down and its airbags were inflated, a gust of wind threatened to significantly increase the rover's horizontal speed. But the firing of a lateral rocket, called the Tranverse Impulse Rocket System (blue), kept the rover on course, orienting the main retrorockets (white) to the their correct upright position. Subsequent igniting of these rockets reduced the rover's speed to near zero, 23 feet (7 meters) above the martian surface. The telemetry was acquired through the Mars Global Surveyor.
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven'
title 'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven'
description This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented in approximately true color. Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past, six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere.
The Second Rover Image
PIA04315
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title The Second Rover Image
Original Caption Released with Image This image of the Mars Pathfinder Lander on the surface of Mars was imaged by Sojourner as it looks back. Sojourners tracks are visible in the foreground.
Pathfinder Rover Atop Mermaid Dune
PIA01132
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Pathfinder Rover Atop Mermaid Dune
Original Caption Released with Image Mars Pathfinder Lander camera image of Sojourner Rover atop the Mermaid "dune" on Sol 30. Note the dark material excavated by the rover wheels. These, and other excavations brought materials to the surface for examination and allowed estimates of mechanical properties of the deposits. NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
May 2000 Nevada Field Test
The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover extends t …
5/15/00
Date 5/15/00
Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover extends the large mast that carries its panoramic camera. The FIDO is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is at a geologically interesting site in central Nevada while it is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO is about the size of a St. Bernard. It weighs about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves at an average speed of about 200 meters an hour (about one tenth a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles "on- the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries. FIDO is about twice the size of Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover and is far more capable of performing its job without frequent human help.
May 2000 Nevada Field Test
The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover extends t …
5/15/00
Date 5/15/00
Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover extends the large mast that carries its panoramic camera. The FIDO is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is at a geologically interesting site in central Nevada while it is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO is about the size of a St. Bernard. It weighs about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves at an average speed of about 200 meters an hour (about one tenth a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles "on- the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries. FIDO is about twice the size of Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover and is far more capable of performing its job without frequent human help.
May 2000 Nevada Field Test
The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover is being …
5/16/00
Date 5/16/00
Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is at a geologically interesting site in central Nevada while it is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO is about the size of a St. Bernard. It weighs about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves at an average speed of about 200 meters an hour (about one tenth a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles "on- the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries. FIDO is about twice the size of Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover and is far more capable of performing its job without frequent human help.
May 2000 Nevada Field Test
The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover is being …
5/17/00
Date 5/17/00
Description The Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover is being used in ongoing NASA field tests to simulate driving conditions on Mars. FIDO is at a geologically interesting site in central Nevada while it is controlled from the mission control room at JPL's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in Pasadena. FIDO is about the size of a St. Bernard. It weighs about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and is approximately 85 centimeters (about 33 inches) wide, 105 centimeters (41 inches) long, and 55 centimeters (22 inches) high. The rover moves at an average speed of about 200 meters an hour (about one tenth a mile per hour) over smooth terrain, using its onboard stereo vision systems to detect and avoid obstacles "on- the-fly." During these tests, FIDO is powered by both solar panels that cover the top of the rover and by replaceable, rechargeable batteries. FIDO is about twice the size of Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover and is far more capable of performing its job without frequent human help.
Hole in One
title Hole in One
description The interior of a crater surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. This is the darkest landing site ever visited by a spacecraft on Mars. The rim of the crater is approximately 10 meters (32 feet) from the rover. The crater is estimated to be 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter. Scientists are intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater, as well as the crater's soil, which appears to be a mixture of coarse gray grains and fine reddish grains. Data taken from the camera's near-infrared, green and blue filters were combined to create this approximate true color picture, taken on the first day of Opportunity's journey. The view is to the west-southwest of the rover. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Spirit Celebration
title Spirit Celebration
date 01.03.2004
description NASA's Mars Exploration Rover team reacts after getting the first signals from the Spirit rover on the surface of Mars. Spirit landed at Mars' Gusev Carter at 8:52 p.m. (PST) on Saturday, Jan. 3. *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
Lower portions of Yogi & rover wheel
PIA00643
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Lower portions of Yogi & rover wheel
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by a camera aboard the Sojourner rover on Sol 4. The large rock Yogi can be seen at the upper right portion of the image. Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument is currently studying the sand around Yogi, and may study Yogi itself later on. One of Sojourner's cleated wheels is visible at lower right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Sojourner Doing a Wheelie on Wedge - Left Eye
PIA01556
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Sojourner Doing a Wheelie on Wedge - Left Eye
Original Caption Released with Image Sojourner's left rear wheel is perched on the rock "Wedge" in this image, taken on Sol 47 by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is the cylindrical object extending from the back of the rover. This image and PIA01557 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01557 ](right eye) make up a stereo pair. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Eyeing Eagle Crater
title Eyeing Eagle Crater
description 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. *Image credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Rover Wheel Sizes
title Rover Wheel Sizes
Description Showing heritage, the relative sizes of Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover, and Mars Science Laboratory wheels keep growing. Credit: NASA/JPL
Rover Wheel Sizes
title Rover Wheel Sizes
Description Showing heritage, the relative sizes of Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover, and Mars Science Laboratory wheels keep growing. Credit: NASA/JPL
Rover Wheel Sizes
title Rover Wheel Sizes
Description Showing heritage, the relative sizes of Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover, and Mars Science Laboratory wheels keep growing. Credit: NASA/JPL
Soft Rock Yields Clues to Mars' Past
PIA06771
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Soft Rock Yields Clues to Mars' Past
Original Caption Released with Image Figure 1 This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rock outcrop dubbed "Clovis." The rock was discovered to be softer than other rocks studied so far at Gusev Crater after the rover easily ground a hole into it with its rock abrasion tool. Spirit's solar panels can be seen in the foreground. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera on sol 205 (July 31, 2004). "Elemental Trio Found in 'Clovis'" Figure 1 above shows that the interior of the rock dubbed "Clovis" contains higher concentrations of sulfur, bromine and chlorine than basaltic, or volcanic, rocks studied so far at Gusev Crater. The data were taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer after the rover dug into Clovis with its rock abrasion tool. The findings might indicate that this rock was chemically altered, and that fluids once flowed through the rock depositing these elements.
MRPS #80823 (Sol 1) Airbag retraction
This image shows that the Mars Pathfinder airbags have been succe …
7/4/97
Date 7/4/97
Description This image shows that the Mars Pathfinder airbags have been successfully retracted, allowing safe deployment of the rover ramps. The Sojourner rover, still in its deployed position, is at center image, and rocks are visible in the background. Mars Pathfinder landed successfully on the surface of Mars today at 10:07 a.m. PDT. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Spirit Shadow over Laguna Trench
PIA05339
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Shadow over Laguna Trench
Original Caption Released with Image 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.
Opportunity at El Capitan
PIA05442
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Title Opportunity at El Capitan
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity casts a shadow over the El Capitan area that the rover is examining with tools on its robotic arm. Opportunity took this image with its front hazard-avoidance camera on Feb. 23, 2004, during the rover's 29th martian day, or sol. Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool to grind a small hole into Opportunity Ledge later on sol 29 to prepare for using the other tools on its arm to analyze the freshly exposed rock during subsequent sols.
Poised for Discovery
PIA05205
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Poised for Discovery
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the front hazard-identification camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's arm in its extended position. The arm, or instrument deployment device, was deployed on the ninth martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover, now sitting 1 meter (3 feet) away from the lander, can be seen in the foreground.
Spirit Switches on Its X-ray Vision
PIA05115
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Spirit Switches on Its X-ray Vision
Original Caption Released with Image This image shows the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit probing its first target rock, Adirondack. At the time this picture was snapped, the rover had begun analyzing the rock with the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer located on its robotic arm. This instrument uses alpha particles and X-rays to determine the elemental composition of martian rocks and soil. The image was taken by the rover's hazard-identification camera.
Opportunity Stretches Out
PIA05193
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Opportunity Stretches Out
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the front hazard-identification camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's arm in its extended position. The arm, or instrument deployment device, was deployed on the ninth martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover, now sitting 1 meter (3 feet) away from the lander, can be seen in the foreground.
On a Roll
PIA05668
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title On a Roll
Original Caption Released with Image This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity front left hazard-avoidance camera shows a pebble caught in rover's front right wheel. The image from sol 63 of the mission was taken as the rover approached the rock dubbed "Bounce" for analysis.
Opportunity Stretches Out (3-D)
PIA05198
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Opportunity Stretches Out (3-D)
Original Caption Released with Image This is a three-dimensional stereo anaglyph of an image taken by the front hazard-identification camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, showing the rover's arm in its extended position. The arm, or instrument deployment device, was deployed on the ninth martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover, now sitting 1 meter (3 feet) away from the lander, can be seen in the foreground.
Spring Cleaning
PIA05637
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Title Spring Cleaning
Original Caption Released with Image This animation show the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity brushing bright materials off a circular patch of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal." The freshly exposed rock was investigated by instruments on the rover's arm on sol 80 (March 25, 2004). On sol 81, Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool, also located on its arm, to grind into the cleaned-off rock. This animation consists of images taken by the rover's hazard-avoidance camera on sol 79.
Door to 'Mazatzal's' Past
PIA05659
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera, Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Title Door to 'Mazatzal's' Past
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" with its hazard-avoidance camera on sol 82. It was taken after the rover's rock abrasion tool completed a 3 hour and 45 minute grind to produce the hole on Mazatzal's surface. The wheel tracks that can be seen at the base of the rock are the result of rover positioning.
Preparing to Dip
PIA06261
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-identification Camera
Title Preparing to Dip
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity looks back out at the plains of Meridiani Planum from the rover's first dip inside the rim of "Endurance Crater." Opportunity's rear hazard-avoidance camera took this picture during the rover's 133rd martian day, or sol, on June 8, 2004.
Recovering Spirit Sends a New Picture
PIA05167
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Recovering Spirit Sends a New Picture
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took and returned this image on January 28, 2004, the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image from the rover's front hazard identification camera shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack. As it had been instructed a week earlier, the Moessbauer spectrometer, an instrument for identifying the minerals in rocks and soils, is still placed against the rock. Engineers are working to restore Spirit to working order so that the rover can resume the scientific exploration of its landing area.
First Look Behind Opportunity
PIA05145
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title First Look Behind Opportunity
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's hazard-identification camera shortly after the rover successfully landed at Meridiani Planum shows the view from behind the rover.
Looking Back, Opportunity Sol 70
PIA05722
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title Looking Back, Opportunity Sol 70
Original Caption Released with Image The rear hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity caught this view of the rover's freshly made tracks after a record drive of 100 meters (328 feet) during sol 70 of the rover's mission (April 5, 2004).
Bird's-Eye View of Opportunity at 'Erebus' (Vertical)
PIA03273
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Bird's-Eye View of Opportunity at 'Erebus' (Vertical)
Original Caption Released with Image This view combines frames taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rover's 652nd through 663rd Martian days, or sols (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005), at the edge of "Erebus Crater." The mosaic is presented as a vertical projection. This type of projection provides a true-to-scale overhead view of the rover deck and nearby surrounding terrain. The view here shows outcrop rocks, sand dunes, and other features out to a distance of about 25 meters (82 feet) from the rover. Opportunity examined targets on the outcrop called "Rimrock" in front of the rover, testing the mobility and operation of Opportunity's robotic arm. The view shows examples of the dunes and ripples that Opportunity has been crossing as the rover drives on the Meridiani plains. This view is a false-color composite of images taken through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. This kind of false-color scheme emphasizes differences in composition among the different kinds of materials that the rover is exploring.
Home and Back Again
PIA05575
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Home and Back Again
Original Caption Released with Image The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity finished observations of the prominent rock outcrop it has been studying during its 51 martian days, or sols, on Mars, and is currently on the hunt for new discoveries. This image from the rover's navigation camera atop its mast features Opportunity's lander--its temporary home for the six-month cruise to Mars. The rover's soil survey traverse plan involves arcing around its landing site, called the Challenger Memorial Station, and over the trench it made on sol 23. In this image, Opportunity is situated about 6.2 meters (about 20.3 feet) from the lander. Rover tracks zig-zag along the surface. Bounce marks and airbag retraction marks are visible around the lander. The calibration target or sundial, which both rover panoramic cameras use to verify the true colors and brightness of the red planet, is visible on the back end of the rover.
'Endurance Crater' Overview
PIA06865
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera, Panorama Camera
Title 'Endurance Crater' Overview
Original Caption Released with Image This overview of "Endurance Crater" traces the path of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity from sol 94 (April 29, 2004) to sol 205 (August 21, 2004). The route charted to enter the crater was a bit circuitous, but well worth the extra care engineers took to ensure the rover's safety. On sol 94, Opportunity sat on the edge of this impressive, football field-sized crater while rover team members assessed the scene. After traversing around the "Karatepe" region and past "Burns Cliff," the rover engineering team assessed the possibility of entering the crater. Careful analysis of the angles Opportunity would face, including testing an Earth-bound model on simulated martian terrain, led the team to decide against entering the crater at that particular place. Opportunity then backed up before finally dipping into the crater on its 130th sol (June 5, 2004). The rover has since made its way down the crater's inner slope, grinding, trenching and examining fascinating rocks and soil targets along the way. The rover nearly made it to the intriguing dunes at the bottom of the crater, but when it got close, the terrain did not look safe enough to cross.
Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
PIA05048
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (QTVR) This section of the first color image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been further processed to produce a sharper look at a trail left by the one of rover's airbags. The drag mark was made after the rover landed and its airbags were deflated and retracted. Scientists have dubbed the region the "Magic Carpet" after a crumpled portion of the soil that appears to have been peeled away (lower left side of the drag mark). Rocks were also dragged by the airbags, leaving impressions and "bow waves" in the soil. The mission team plans to drive the rover over to this site to look for additional clues about the composition of the martian soil. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera. This extreme close-up image (see insets above) highlights the martian feature that scientists have named "Magic Carpet" because of its resemblance to a crumpled carpet fold. Scientists think the soil here may have detached from its underlying layer, possibly due to interaction with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's airbag after landing. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
PIA05048
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (QTVR) This section of the first color image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been further processed to produce a sharper look at a trail left by the one of rover's airbags. The drag mark was made after the rover landed and its airbags were deflated and retracted. Scientists have dubbed the region the "Magic Carpet" after a crumpled portion of the soil that appears to have been peeled away (lower left side of the drag mark). Rocks were also dragged by the airbags, leaving impressions and "bow waves" in the soil. The mission team plans to drive the rover over to this site to look for additional clues about the composition of the martian soil. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera. This extreme close-up image (see insets above) highlights the martian feature that scientists have named "Magic Carpet" because of its resemblance to a crumpled carpet fold. Scientists think the soil here may have detached from its underlying layer, possibly due to interaction with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's airbag after landing. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
PIA05048
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (QTVR) This section of the first color image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been further processed to produce a sharper look at a trail left by the one of rover's airbags. The drag mark was made after the rover landed and its airbags were deflated and retracted. Scientists have dubbed the region the "Magic Carpet" after a crumpled portion of the soil that appears to have been peeled away (lower left side of the drag mark). Rocks were also dragged by the airbags, leaving impressions and "bow waves" in the soil. The mission team plans to drive the rover over to this site to look for additional clues about the composition of the martian soil. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera. This extreme close-up image (see insets above) highlights the martian feature that scientists have named "Magic Carpet" because of its resemblance to a crumpled carpet fold. Scientists think the soil here may have detached from its underlying layer, possibly due to interaction with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's airbag after landing. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.
Iron Meteorite on Mars
PIA07269
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Iron Meteorite on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite on Mars, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel. Readings from spectrometers on the rover determined that composition. Opportunity used its panoramic camera to take the images used in this approximately true-color composite on the rover's 339th martian day, or sol (Jan. 6, 2005). This composite combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 600-nanometer (red), 530-nanometer (green), and 480-nanometer (blue) filters.
Moessbauer on Mars
PIA05197
Sol (our sun)
Moessbauer Spectrometer, Panoramic Camera
Title Moessbauer on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken at Meridiani Planum, Mars, by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The image was acquired on the ninth martian day or sol of the rover's mission.
Microscope on Mars
PIA05195
Sol (our sun)
Microscopic Imager, Panoramic Camera
Title Microscope on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken at Meridiani Planum, Mars by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's microscopic imager (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The image was acquired on the ninth martian day or sol of the rover's mission.
Rat on Mars
PIA05194
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Rat on Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken on Mars by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's rock abrasion tool, also known as "rat" (circular device in center), located on its instrument deployment device, or "arm." The image was acquired on the ninth martian day or sol of the rover's mission.
Crater Down Below-3
PIA05146
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES)
Title Crater Down Below-3
Original Caption Released with Image Scientists believe the circular feature in this image to be a crater near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover landed at Meridiani Planum on Mars at approximately 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 24. This image was taken at an altitude of 1,404 meters (4,606 feet) by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the rover. The image spans approximately 1.2 kilometers (3/4 of a mile) across the surface of Mars.
Crater Down Below-2
PIA05147
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES)
Title Crater Down Below-2
Original Caption Released with Image Scientists believe the circular feature in this image to be a crater near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover landed at Meridiani Planum on Mars at approximately 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 24. This image was taken at an altitude of 1,690 meters (5,545 feet) by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the rover. The image spans approximately 1.4 kilometers (7/8 of a mile) across the surface of Mars.
Crater Down Below
PIA05148
Sol (our sun)
Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES)
Title Crater Down Below
Original Caption Released with Image Scientists believe the circular feature in this image to be a crater near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover landed at Meridiani Planum on Mars at approximately 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday, Jan. 24. This image was taken at an altitude of 1,986 meters (6,516 feet) by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the rover. The image spans approximately 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) across the surface of Mars.
Plaque on Spirit Honors Columbia Astronauts
PIA05009
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title Plaque on Spirit Honors Columbia Astronauts
Original Caption Released with Image A plaque commemorating the astronauts who died in the tragic accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia is mounted on the back of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's high-gain antenna. The plaque was designed by Mars Exploration Rover engineers. The astronauts are also honored by the new name of the rover landing site, the Columbia Memorial Station. This image was taken on Mars by Spirit's navigation camera.
2003 Rover
title 2003 Rover
Description This artist's rendering shows a view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as it sets off roam the surface of the red planet. The rover is scheduled for launch in June 2003 and will arrive in January 2004, shielded in its landing by an airbag shell. The airbag/lander structure, which has no scientific instruments of its own, is shown to the right in this image, behind the rover. The rover will carry five scientific instruments and rock abrading device. The Panoramic Camera and the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer are located on the large mast shown on the front of the rover. The camera will be supplied by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the spectrometer will be supplied by Arizona State University in Tempe. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. The Rock Abrasion Tool is located on a robotic arm that can be deployed to study rocks and soil.(In this view, the robotic arm is tucked under the front of the rover.) The tool, provided by Honeybee Robotics Ltd., New York, N.Y., will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks, which may be dusty and weathered, allowing the science instruments to determine the nature of rock interiors. The three instruments that will study the abraded rocks are a Mossbauer Spectrometer, provided by the Johannes Gutenberg- University Mainz, Germany, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer provided by Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, also in Mainz, Germany, and a Microscopic Imager, supplied by JPL. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. In a landing similar to that of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, a parachute will deploy to slow the spacecraft down and airbags will inflate to cushion the landing. Petals of the landing structure will unfold to release the rover, which will drive off to begin its exploration. JPL manages the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload.
First Patch of Probed Soil
PIA05094
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title First Patch of Probed Soil
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit highlights the first patch of soil examined by the rover's microscopic imager. The imager is located on the rover's instrument deployment device, or "arm." The rover can be seen to the right. Engineers first deployed the arm early Friday morning, Jan. 16, 2004.
Airbag Impressions in Soil
PIA05142
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Impressions in Soil
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera shows where the rover's airbags left impressions in the martian soil. The drag marks were made after the rover successfully landed at Meridiani Planum and its airbags were retracted. The rover can be seen in the foreground.
Airbag Seams Leave Trails
PIA05143
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Airbag Seams Leave Trails
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera shows where the rover's airbag seams left impressions in the martian soil. The drag marks were made after the rover successfully landed at Meridiani Planum and its airbags were retracted. The rover can be seen in the foreground.
A Hole in Humphrey
PIA05499
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera, Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT)
Title A Hole in Humphrey
Original Caption Released with Image This image taken by the navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a hole drilled by the rover in the rock dubbed "Humphrey." Spirit ground into the rock with the rock abrasion tool located on its robotic arm on the 60th martian day, or sol, of its mission. Scientists are investigating the freshly exposed rock with the rover's suite of scientific instruments, also located on the rover's arm. Spirit is on its way to a large crater nicknamed "Bonneville.
Looking Up from the Deep
PIA04180
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Looking Up from the Deep
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Looking Up from the Deep (QTVR) Not long after conducting extensive investigations of tilted martian rock layers along its path, NASA's Spirit rover prepared to resume the trek to the top of the "Columbia Hills" in June. This panorama, nicknamed "Sunset Ridge," shows the terrain that lay ahead of the rover on Spirit's 519th martian day, or sol (June 19, 2005). On the left is the summit of "Husband Hill," Spirit's objective at that time. This mosaic of images is an approximate true-color rendering of snapshots taken by the rover's panoramic camera using 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters. Spirit took these images at approximately 3 p.m. local true solar time in Gusev Crater on Mars. The rover then continued to climb throughout July, making numerous scientific investigations of martian rocks along the way.
Looking Up from the Deep
PIA04180
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
Title Looking Up from the Deep
Original Caption Released with Image "" Click on the image for Looking Up from the Deep (QTVR) Not long after conducting extensive investigations of tilted martian rock layers along its path, NASA's Spirit rover prepared to resume the trek to the top of the "Columbia Hills" in June. This panorama, nicknamed "Sunset Ridge," shows the terrain that lay ahead of the rover on Spirit's 519th martian day, or sol (June 19, 2005). On the left is the summit of "Husband Hill," Spirit's objective at that time. This mosaic of images is an approximate true-color rendering of snapshots taken by the rover's panoramic camera using 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters. Spirit took these images at approximately 3 p.m. local true solar time in Gusev Crater on Mars. The rover then continued to climb throughout July, making numerous scientific investigations of martian rocks along the way.
What Lies Ahead
PIA05653
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title What Lies Ahead
Original Caption Released with Image This cylindrical mosaic taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 82 shows the view south of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville." The rover will travel toward the Columbia Hills, seen here at the upper left. The rock dubbed "Mazatzal" and the hole the rover drilled in to it can be seen at the lower left. The rover's position is referred to as "Site 22, Position 32." This image was geometrically corrected to make the horizon appear flat.
First Panoramic Look at Meridiani Planum, Mars
PIA05138
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title First Panoramic Look at Meridiani Planum, Mars
Original Caption Released with Image This 360-degree panorama is one of the first images beamed back to Earth from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shortly after it touched down at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The image was captured by the rover's navigation camera.
Slippery Slope?
PIA06274
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Slippery Slope?
Original Caption Released with Image This digital elevation map shows the topography of the "Columbia Hills," just in front of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Rover planners are currently plotting the safest route for Spirit to climb to the front hill, called "West Spur." The direct path from the bottom crosshatch to the top crosshatch may be too steep. Data from the Mars Orbital Camera on the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor were used to create this 3-D map.
'You Are Here'
PIA05230
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 'You Are Here'
Original Caption Released with Image Click on image for larger view This map shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and its lander on the surface of Mars. The robotic geologist landed inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum on Jan. 24, 2004, PST. The white spot is the lander, and the small black spot northeast of it is believed to be the rover (see inset). The image was taken by the camera onboard the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
'You Are Here'
PIA05230
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title 'You Are Here'
Original Caption Released with Image Click on image for larger view This map shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and its lander on the surface of Mars. The robotic geologist landed inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum on Jan. 24, 2004, PST. The white spot is the lander, and the small black spot northeast of it is believed to be the rover (see inset). The image was taken by the camera onboard the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rov …
PIA08488
Panoramic Camera
Title Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rover
Original Caption Released with Image 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 PIA07855 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07855 ]).
After Opportunity's First Drive in Six Weeks
PIA09963
Sol (our sun)
Hazard Identification Camera
Title After Opportunity's First Drive in Six Weeks
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-identification camera to obtain this image at the end of a drive on the rover's 1,271st sol, or Martian day (Aug. 21, 2007). Due to sun-obscuring dust storms limiting the rover's supply of solar energy, Opportunity had not driven since sol 1,232 (July 12, 2007). On sol 1,271, after the sky above Opportunity had been gradually clearing for more than two weeks, the rover rolled 13.38 meters (44 feet). Wheel tracks are visible in front of the rover because the drive ended with a short test of driving backwards. Opportunity's turret of four tools at the end of the robotic arm fills the center of the image. Victoria Crater, site of the rover's next science targets, lies ahead.
Spirit Wiggles into Position
PIA03035
Sol (our sun)
Hazard-identification Camera
Title Spirit Wiggles into Position
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit completed a difficult, rocky ascent en route to reaching a captivating rock outcrop nicknamed "Hillary" at the summit of "Husband Hill." At the end of the climb the robotic geologist was tilted almost 30 degrees. To get the rover on more solid footing for deploying the instrument arm, rover drivers told Spirit to wiggle its wheels one at a time. This animation shows Spirit's position before and after completing the wheel wiggle, during which the rover slid approximately 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) downhill. Rover drivers decided this position was too hazardous for deploying the instrument arm and subsequently directed Spirit to a more stable position before conducting analyses with instruments on the rover's arm. Spirit took these images with its front hazard-avoidance camera on martian day, or sol, 625 (Oct. 6, 2005).
At Base of 'Burns Cliff'
PIA07039
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
Title At Base of 'Burns Cliff'
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this view from the base of "Burns Cliff" during the rover's 280th martian day (Nov. 6, 2004). This cliff in the inner wall of "Endurance Crater" displays multiple layers of bedrock for the rover to examine with its panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover team has decided that the farthest Opportunity can safely advance along the base of the cliff is close to the squarish white rock near the center of this image. After examining the site for a few days from that position, the the rover will turn around and head out of the crater. The view is a mosaic of frames taken by Opportunity's navigation camera. The rover was on ground with a slope of about 30 degrees when the pictures were taken, and the view is presented here in a way that corrects for that tilt of the camera.
Sojourner Rover Backing Away from Moe - Right Eye
PIA01562
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Sojourner Rover Backing Away from Moe - Right Eye
Original Caption Released with Image This is the left image of a stereo image pair showing the Sojourner rover in the middle of the afternoon on Sol 66 (September 9). The rover has backed away from the rock "Moe" (to the right of the rover) after measuring its composition with the Alpha Proton X-Ray spectrometer. The next target for Sojourner, the rock "Stimpy," is in front of Moe. This image and PIA01561 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01561 ](left eye) make up a stereo pair. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Sojourner Rover Backing Away From Moe - Left Eye
PIA01561
Sol (our sun)
Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Title Sojourner Rover Backing Away From Moe - Left Eye
Original Caption Released with Image This is the left image of a stereo image pair showing the Sojourner rover in the middle of the afternoon on Sol 66 (September 9). The rover has backed away from the rock "Moe" (to the right of the rover) after measuring its composition with the Alpha Proton X-Ray spectrometer. The next target for Sojourner, the rock "Stimpy," is in front of Moe. This image and PIA01562 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01562 ](right eye) make up a stereo pair. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
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