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Testing Spirit on Five Wheel …
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.
Spirit Rover on 'Husband Hil …
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
A rover wheel in soil - colo …
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).
Spirit's View of Mars
title Spirit's View of Mars
date 01.03.2004
description Only hours after landing, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit sent back its first black and white images of Mars. This mosaic image taken by Spirit's navigation has been further processed, significantly improving the 360 degree panoramic view of the rover on the surface of Mars. See more images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Rover Camera Mosaic of Lande …
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 Vi …
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/ ] .
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
Size Comparison, Mars Scienc …
title Size Comparison, Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rover
description An artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (left) serves to compare it with Spirit, one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Mars Science Laboratory is in development for a launch opportunity in 2009, a landing on Mars in 2010 and investigation of that planet's past or present ability to sustain microbial life. The images of Spirit and the more advanced rover are both superimposed by special effects on a scene from Mars'"Columbia Hills," photographed by Spirit's panoramic camera on April 13, 2005, and presented here in false color (see Next Stop: Methuselah [PIA07855]). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Exploration Rover Makes …
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.
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, Vert …
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.
Sojourner Rover View of Plat …
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," wi …
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
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
Sojourner Rover Near Half Do …
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 Do …
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).
Preparing to Test Rover Mobi …
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.
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 Co …
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).
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
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.
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.
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
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
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 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
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 …
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
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.
'McMurdo' Panorama from Spir …
title 'McMurdo' Panorama from Spirit's 'Winter Haven'
description This 360-degree view, called the "McMurdo" panorama, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. From April through October 2006, Spirit has stayed on a small hill known as "Low Ridge." There, the rover's solar panels are tilted toward the sun to maintain enough solar power for Spirit to keep making scientific observations throughout the winter on southern Mars. This view of the surroundings from Spirit's "Winter Haven" is presented in approximately true color. Oct. 26, 2006, marks Spirit's 1,000th sol of what was planned as a 90-sol mission. (A sol is a Martian day, which lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds). The rover has lived through the most challenging part of its second Martian winter. Its solar power levels are rising again. Spring in the southern hemisphere of Mars will begin in early 2007. Before that, the rover team hopes to start driving Spirit again toward scientifically interesting places in the "Inner Basin" and "Columbia Hills" inside Gusev crater. The McMurdo panorama is providing team members with key pieces of scientific and topographic information for choosing where to continue Spirit's exploration adventure. The Pancam began shooting component images of this panorama during Spirit's sol 814 (April 18, 2006) and completed the part shown here on sol 932 (Aug. 17, 2006). The panorama was acquired using all 13 of the Pancam's color filters, using lossless compression for the red and blue stereo filters, and only modest levels of compression on the remaining filters. The overall panorama consists of 1,449 Pancam images and represents a raw data volume of nearly 500 megabytes. It is thus the largest, highest-fidelity view of Mars acquired from either rover. Additional photo coverage of the parts of the rover deck not shown here was completed on sol 980 (Oct. 5 , 2006). The team is completing the processing and mosaicking of those final pieces of the panorama, and that image will be released on the Web shortly to augment this McMurdo panorama view. This beautiful scene reveals a tremendous amount of detail in Spirit's surroundings. Many dark, porous-textured volcanic rocks can be seen around the rover, including many on Low Ridge. Two rocks to the right of center, brighter and smoother-looking in this image and more reflective in infrared observations by Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer, are thought to be meteorites. On the right, "Husband Hill" on the horizon, the rippled "El Dorado" sand dune field near the base of that hill, and lighter-toned "Home Plate" below the dunes provide context for Spirit's travels since mid-2005. Left of center, tracks and a trench dug by Spirit's right-front wheel, which no longer rotates, have exposed bright underlying material. This bright material is evidence of sulfur-rich salty minerals in the subsurface, which may provide clues about the watery past of this part of Gusev Crater. Spirit has stayed busy at Winter Haven during the past, six months even without driving. In addition to acquiring this spectacular panorama, the rover team has also acquired significant new assessments of the elemental chemistry and mineralogy of rocks and soil targets within reach of the rover's arm. The team plans soon to have Spirit drive to a very nearby spot on Low Ridge to access different rock and soil samples while maintaining a good solar panel tilt toward the sun for the rest of the Martian winter. Despite the long span of time needed for acquiring this 360-degree view -- a few images at a time every few sols over a total of 119 sols because the available power was so low -- the lighting and color remain remarkably uniform across the mosaic. This fact attests to the repeatability of wintertime sols on Mars in the southern hemisphere.
Pathfinder Rover Atop Mermai …
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).
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 & rov …
PIA00643
Sol (our sun)
Rover Cameras
Title Lower portions of Yogi & rover wheel
Original Caption Released with Image The image was taken by a camera aboard the Sojourner rover on Sol 4. The large rock Yogi can be seen at the upper right portion of the image. Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer instrument is currently studying the sand around Yogi, and may study Yogi itself later on. One of Sojourner's cleated wheels is visible at lower right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
Sojourner Doing a Wheelie on …
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
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.
Sojourner Rover Backing Away …
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 …
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).
Rover Spirit Gets a Cleaning
title Rover Spirit Gets a Cleaning
date 03.23.2005
description These two images from 10 days apart show that dust was removed from the panoramic camera's calibration target on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Spirit's panoramic camera took the picture on the left on the rover's 416th martian day, or sol, (March 5, 2005) and took the picture on the right on sol 426 (March 15, 2005). During the time in-between, other evidence of dust-lifting winds were a jump in power output by Spirit's solar arrays on sol 420 from removal of some accumulated dust, and sighting of two dust devils in sol 421 images from Spirit. The size of the base plate on the calibration target shown in both of these images is 8 centimeters (3.15 inches) on each side. These are the panoramic camera team's best current attempt at generating "true color" views of what these scenes would look like if viewed by a human on Mars. They were generated from mathematical combinations of six calibrated, left-eye Pancam images for each sequence, using filters ranging from 430-nanometer to 750-nanometer wavelengths. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Robotic Arm of Rover 1
title Robotic Arm of Rover 1
description JPL engineers examine the robotic arm of Mars Exploration Rover 1. The arm is modeled after a human arm, complete with joints, and holds four devices on its end: the Rock Abrasion Tool which can grind into Martian rocks, a microscopic imager, and two spectrometers for elemental and iron-mineral identification. *Image Credit*: JPL
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