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Mars Exploration Rovers


Waspie_Dwarf

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The Exploration of Mars -

Mars Exploration Rovers


The original "Exploration of Mars" topic became excessively long. As a result the topic has been split into individual, mission based, topics. The "Exploration of Mars" topic is now for news and discoveries not specific to any one mission.

Links to the other topics can be found below:Waspie_Dwarf

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Bright Soil Near 'McCool'


While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. This image from Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam), taken on the rover's 788th Martian day, or sol, of exploration (March 22, 2006), shows the strikingly bright colors and large extent of the materials uncovered.

Several days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. Spirit found "Paso Robles" in 2005 while climbing "Cumberland Ridge" on the western slope of "Husband Hill." In early January 2006, the rover discovered "Arad" on the basin floor just south of "Husband Hill." Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's Pancam and miniature thermal emission spectrometer examined this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare its properties with the properties of those other deposits.

These discoveries indicate that salty, light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts, which are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution, may record the past presence of water. So far, these enigmatic materials have generated more questions than answers, however, and as Spirit continues to drive across this region in search of a safe winter haven, the team continues to formulate and test hypotheses to explain the rover's most fascinating recent discovery.

linked-image
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This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Bright Soil Near 'McCool' (False Color)

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Click on image for high resolution version.

This image is a false-color rendering using using Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Bright Soil Near 'McCool' (3-D)

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Click on image for high resolution version.

This stereo view combines images from the two blue (430-nanometer) filters in the Pancam's left and right "eyes." The image should be viewed using red-and-blue stereo glasses, with the red over your left eye.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell



Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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I don't know about nevada, but that looks wicked. great pics :yes:

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Waspie, you indeed have a great fascination of the beauties of space :yes:

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Spirt Images of 'Homeplate'


Coarse Layering at 'Home Plate'

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This image shows coarse-grained layers from around the edge of a low plateau called "Home Plate" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. One possible origin is material falling to the ground after being thrown aloft by an explosion such as a volcanic eruption or meteorite impact.

The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired the exposures for this image on Spirit's 749th Martian day (Feb. 10, 2006). This view is an approximately true-color rendering mathematically generated from separate images taken through all of the left Pancam's 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

'Home Plate' Evidence for an Explosive Past

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This view of layers around the edge of a low plateau called "Home Plate" inside Mars' Gusev Crater includes a feature that may be what geologists call a "bomb sag" and interpret as evidence of an explosive event, such as a volcanic eruption.

The layers seen here are generally straight and parallel except in the lower right, where they dip around a greyish rock that is about 4 centimeters (about 1.5 inches) in diameter. When layered deposits are struck by a falling rock while the layers are still soft, this type of pattern can be created. The rock might have been lofted by a volcanic burst or as part of the material ejected by the crater-forming impact of a meteorite.

The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired the exposures for this image on Spirit's 754th Martian day (Feb. 15, 2006). This view is an approximately true-color rendering mathematically generated from separate images taken through all of the left Pancam's 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell


Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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Stack of Layers at 'Payson' in Meridiani Planum


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The stack of fine layers exposed at a ledge called "Payson" on the western edge of "Erebus Crater" in Mars' Meridiani Planum shows a diverse range of primary and secondary sedimentary textures formed billions of years ago. These structures likely result from an interplay between windblown and water-involved processes.

The panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity acquired the exposures for this image on Spirit's 749th Martian day (Feb. 10, 2006). This view is an approximately true-color rendering mathematically generated from separate images taken through all of the left Pancam's 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell


Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity
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NASA Mars Rovers Head for New Sites After Studying Layers


NASA's Mars rover Spirit has reached a safe site for the Martian winter, while its twin, Opportunity, is making fast progress toward a destination of its own.

The two rovers recently set out on important -- but very different -- drives after earlier weeks inspecting sites with layers of Mars history. Opportunity finished examining sedimentary evidence of ancient water at a crater called "Erebus," and is now rapidly crossing flat ground toward the scientific lure of a much larger crater, "Victoria."

user posted image
Image above: This image from Spirit shows coarse-grained layers from
around the edge of a low plateau called "Home Plate" inside Mars' Gusev
Crater. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

+ Full image and caption


Spirit studied signs of a long-ago explosion at a bright, low plateau called "Home Plate" during February and March. Then one of its six wheels quit working, and Spirit struggled to complete a short advance to a north-facing slope for the winter. "For Spirit, the priority has been to reach a safe winter haven," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover project.

The rovers have operated more than eight times as long as their originally planned three-month explorations on Mars. Each has driven more than 6.8 kilometers (4.2 miles) about 11 times as far as planned. Combined, they have returned more than 150,000 images. Two years ago, the project had already confirmed that at least one place on Mars had a wet and possibly habitable environment long ago. The scientific findings continue.

Opportunity spent most of the past four months at Erebus, a highly eroded impact crater about 300 meters (1,000 feet) in diameter, where the rover found extensive exposures of thin, rippled layering interpreted as a fingerprint of flowing water. "What we see at Erebus is a thicker interval of wetted sediment than we've seen anywhere else," said Dr. John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology, "The same outcrops also have cracks that may have formed from wetting and drying."

In mid-March, Opportunity began a 2-kilometer (1.6-mile) trek from Erebus to Victoria, a crater about 800 meters (half a mile) across, where a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks is exposed. In the past three weeks, Opportunity has already driven more than a fourth of that distance.

At Home Plate, Spirit found coarse layering overlain by finer layering in a pattern that fits accumulation of material falling to the ground after a volcanic or impact explosion. In one place, the layers are deformed where a golfball-size rock appears to have fallen on them while they were soft. "Geologists call that a 'bomb sag,' and it is strong evidence for some kind of explosive origin," Squyres said. "We would like to have had time to study Home Plate longer, but we needed to head for a north-facing slope before winter got too bad."

Spirit is in Mars' southern hemisphere, where the sun is crossing lower in the northern sky each day. The rovers rely on solar power. The amount available will keep dropping until the shortest days of the Mars winter, four months from now. To keep producing enough electricity to run overnight heaters that protect vital electronics, Spirit's solar panels must be tilted toward the winter sun by driving the rover onto north-facing slopes. However, on March 13 the right-front wheel's drive motor gave out. Spirit has subsequently driven about 80 meters (262 feet) using five wheels and dragging the sixth, but an initial route toward a large hill proved impassable due to soft ground. Last week, the team chose a smaller nearby ridge, dubbed "Low Ridge Haven," as the winter destination. Spirit reached the ridge Sunday and has a favorable 11-degree tilt toward the north.

"We have to use care choosing the type of terrain we drive over," Dr. Ash**ey Trebi-Ollennu, a rover planner at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., said about the challenge of five-wheel driving. In tests at JPL, the team has been practicing a maneuver to gain additional tilt by perching the left-front wheel on a basketball-size rock.

Spending eight months or so at Low Ridge Haven will offer time for many long-duration studies that members of the science team have been considering since early in the mission, said Dr. Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, deputy principal investigator. These include detailed mapping of rocks and soils; in-depth determination of rock and soil composition; monitoring of clouds and other atmospheric changes; watching for subtle surface changes due to winds; and learning properties of the shallow subsurface by tracking surface-temperature changes over a span of months.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate.

For images and information about the rovers, see www.nasa.gov/rovers or http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov . For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit www.nasa.gov .


Media contact:Guy Webster (818) 354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Dwayne Brown/Erica Hupp (202) 358-1726/1237
NASA Headquarters, Washington

2006-054


Source: NASA - Mars - Missions
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SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Finally Reaches a Potential Winter Haven

- sol 803-811, Apr 14, 2006:

Spirit is basking in the sun, relatively speaking, on a 10.8-degree, north-facing slope in Gusev Crater on Mars. After turning away from the rover's previous heading toward "McCool Hill" last week, Spirit started driving toward a nearby area known as "Low Ridge Haven" and arrived there over the weekend. Because rover drivers were able to get Spirit to a place where the solar panels tilt more steeply toward the sun, the rover's power output increased by 50 to 60 watt-hours per sol (a sol is one day on Mars). That gives the rover enough energy for about one hour of daytime remote science.

So far in this location, Spirit has collected a 360-degree panorama with the navigation camera, a smaller panorama with the panoramic camera, two targeted observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and five targeted images with the panoramic camera. Spirit also collected data with instruments on the robotic arm, including the microscopic imager, the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, and the Mรถssbauer spectrometer. All the rock and soil targets in this area are being informally named after Antarctic research stations and explorers.

Source: NASA/JPL - Rover Status - Spirit

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Paved Path for Opportunity


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As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues a southward trek from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the terrain consists of large sand ripples and patches of flat-lying rock outcrops, as shown in this image. Whenever possible, rover planners keep Opportunity on the "pavement" for best mobility.

This false-color image mosaic was assembled using images acquired by the panoramic camera on Opportunity's 784th sol (April 8, 2006) at about 11:45 a.m. local solar time. The camera used its 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. This view shows a portion of the outcrop named "Bosque," including rover wheel tracks, fractured and finely-layered outcrop rocks and smaller, dark cobbles littered across the surface.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell


Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity
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Spirit Scans Winter Haven


At least three different kinds of rocks await scientific analysis at the place where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will likely spend several months of Martian winter. They are visible in this picture, which the panoramic camera on Spirit acquired during the rover's 809th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 12, 2006). Paper-thin layers of light-toned, jagged-edged rocks protrude horizontally from beneath small sand drifts; a light gray rock with smooth, rounded edges sits atop the sand drifts; and several dark gray to black, angular rocks with vesicles (small holes) typical of hardened lava lie scattered across the sand.



Scans Winter Haven

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Click on image for high resolution version.

This view is an approximately true-color rendering that combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell



Scans Winter Haven (False Color)

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This view is a false-color rendering that combines images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell


Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit
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Spirit Greets New Terrain, New Season on Mars

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In time to survive the Martian winter, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has driven to and parked on a north-facing slope in the "Columbia Hills." This vantage point will optimize solar power during the upcoming winter season and maximize the vehicle's ability to communicate with the NASA Odyssey orbiter.

Top science priorities for the coming months are a detailed, 360-degree panorama using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, a study of surface and subsurface soil properties, and monitoring of the atmosphere and its changes. The planned subsurface soil experiments will be a first for the Mars Exploration Rover mission. To conduct the study, Spirit will use the brush on the rock abrasion tool to carefully sweep away soil, much the way an archaeologist uses a brush to uncover artifacts. At each level, Spirit will measure the mineral and chemical properties and assess the physical nature (such as grain size, texture, hardness) of the material, using the Athena science instruments on the robotic arm. Of particular interest are vertical variations in soil characteristics that may indicate water-related deposition of sulfates and other minerals.

Panoramic images will provide important information about the nature and origin of surrounding rocks and soils. Spirit will also study the mineralogy of the surrounding terrain using the thermal emission spectrometer and search for surface changes caused by high winds. After the winter solstice in August, depending on energy levels, scientists may direct the rover to pivot around the disabled, right front wheel to get different targets within reach of the arm. When the winter season is over and solar energy levels rise again, scientists will direct Spirit to leave its winter campaign site and continue examining the "Columbia Hills."

Spirit acquired the images in this mosaic with the navigation camera on the rover's 807th Martian day, or sol, of exploring Gusev Crater on Mars (April 11, 2006). Approaching from the east are the rover's tracks, including a shallow trench created by the dragging front wheel. On the horizon, in the center of the panorama, is "McCool Hill." This view is presented in a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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Low Sun from 'Low Ridge'

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A spectacular field of Martian sand ripples separates NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit from the slopes of "Husband Hill." It has been 200 Martian days, or sols, since the rover started a descent from the top of the peak to the rover's current position on "Low Ridge." Looking back to the north on sol 813 (April 17, 2006), Spirit acquired this blue-filter (436-nanometer) view with the right panoramic camera (Pancam) while the Sun was low in the sky late in the afternoon. Because of the low-angle lighting (sunlight is coming from the left), images like this provide superb views of subtle textures in the topography both near and far. Husband Hill, where the rover was perched late last summer, rises prominently just left of center in this view. A 150-meter wide (500 foot) field of curving sand ripples named "El Dorado" lies at the base of Husband Hill.

By collecting photos like this at different times of day, when lighting comes from different directions, scientists can distinguish surface properties such as color and reflectivity from topography and roughness. By separating these components they can map more details of the geologic terrain, providing new clues about the geologic history of Gusev Crater.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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Rolling Ripple

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NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to cut southward across a plain marked by large sand ripples and a pavement of outcrop rock. The ripple in the center of the image shows a distinct pattern of banding, which the science team hopes to investigate more closely during the trek through this terrain. The banding and other features have inspired a hypothesis that Meridiani ripples are old features that are currently being eroded, and not transported, by wind. This navigation camera image was taken on Opportunity's sol 795, April 19, 2006.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity
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Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder
05.05.06

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As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." The rock surface facing the rover is similar in appearance to the surface texture on the outside of lava flows on Earth.

Spirit took this approximately true-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 810th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 13, 2006), using the camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/NMMNH

+ High resolution JPEG

Source: NASA - Missions - MER

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Spirit Beholds Bumpy Boulder (False Color)
05.05.06

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As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit began collecting images for a 360-degree panorama of new terrain, the rover captured this view of a dark boulder with an interesting surface texture. The boulder sits about 40 centimeters (16 inches) tall on Martian sand about 5 meters (16 feet) away from Spirit. It is one of many dark, volcanic rock fragments -- many pocked with rounded holes called vesicles -- littering the slope of "Low Ridge." The rock surface facing the rover is similar in appearance to the surface texture on the outside of lava flows on Earth.

Spirit took this false-color image with the panoramic camera on the rover's 810th sol, or Martian day, of exploring Mars (April 13, 2006). This image is a false-color rendering using camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/NMMNH

+ High resolution JPEG

Source: NASA - Missions - MER

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Opportunity Images 'Victoria'


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Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' (Unlabeled)


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Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' (Labeled)



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This pair of images from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity served as initial confirmation that the two-year-old rover is within sight of "Victoria Crater," which it has been approaching for more than a year.

Engineers on the rover team were unsure whether Opportunity would make it as far as Victoria, but scientists hoped for the chance to study such a large crater with their roving geologist. Victoria Crater is 800 meters (nearly half a mile) in diameter, about six times wider than "Endurance Crater," where Opportunity spent several months in 2004 examining rock layers affected by ancient water.

When scientists using orbital data calculated that they should be able to detect Victoria's rim in rover images, they scrutinized frames taken in the direction of the crater by the panoramic camera. To positively characterize the subtle horizon profile of the crater and some of the features leading up to it, researchers created a vertically-stretched image (top) from a mosaic of regular frames from the panoramic camera (bottom), taken on Opportunity's 804th Martian day (April 29, 2006).

The streched image makes mild nearby dunes look like more threatening peaks, but that is only a result of the exaggerated vertical dimension. This vertical stretch technique was first applied to Viking Lander 2 panoramas by Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, to help locate the lander with respect to orbiter images. Vertically stretching the image allows features to be more readily identified by the Mars Exploration Rover science team.

The bright white dot near the horizon to the right of center, labeled "Outcrop Promontory," (barely visible without labeling or zoom-in) is thought to be a light-toned outcrop on the far wall of the crater, suggesting that the rover can see over the low rim of Victoria. The northeast and southeast rims are labeled in bright green. Finally, the light purple lines and arrow highlight a small crater.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Cornell University

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'Victoria' on Opportunity's Horizon (Orbital View)

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This image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor highlights the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's approach toward "Victoria Crater."

North is to the left. Opportunity's location at sol 804 (April 29, 2006) is marked, as are the left and right edges of Victoria's rim from the rover's point of view. The labeled "promontory" is a bright spot that scientists believe is an outcrop on the far side of the crater. Marked in light purple is a small, 35-meter (115-foot) crater.

Victoria Crater is 800 meters (nearly half a mile) in diameter, about six times wider than "Endurance Crater," where Opportunity spent several months in 2004 examining rock layers affected by ancient water.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity
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Looking for Changes in Soil over Time

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The grinding teeth have worn away on the rock abrasion tool of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (after exposing interiors of five time more rock targets than its design goal of three rocks) but the tool still has useful wire bristles for brushing targets. In this image, a figure-eight-like imprint in the Martian soil marks the spot where Spirit has begun examining subsurface deposits layer by layer. The circular indentations resulted from brushing by the rock abrasion tool, one of several instruments on the rover's robotic arm. As an effective brushing tool it is now fulfilling a soil profiling experiment on a target called "Progress."

The experiment is a multi-step process of carefully brushing away fine layers of soil and then using the Mรถssbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, microscopic imager, and panoramic camera to examine the exposed surfaces during the long Martian winter.

This view is a mosaic of exposures taken by Spirit's microscopic imager during the rover's 830th Martian day (May 4, 2006). The total area shown is about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) square.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit
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Cobbles in Troughs Between Meridiani Ripples


As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to traverse from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the rover navigates along exposures of bedrock between large, wind-blown ripples. Along the way, scientists have been studying fields of cobbles that sometimes appear on trough floors between ripples. They have also been studying the banding patterns seen in large ripples.

This view, obtained by Opportunity's panoramic camera on the rover's 802nd Martian day (sol) of exploration (April 27, 2006), is a mosaic spanning about 30 degrees. It shows a field of cobbles nestled among wind-driven ripples that are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) high.

The origin of cobble fields like this one is unknown. The cobbles may be a lag of coarser material left behind from one or more soil deposits whose finer particles have blown away. The cobbles may be eroded fragments of meteoritic material, secondary ejecta of Mars rock thrown here from craters elsewhere on the surface, weathering remnants of locally-derived bedrock, or a mixture of these. Scientists will use the panoramic camera's multiple filters to study the rock types, variability and origins of the cobbles.

user posted image
Click on image for high resolution version.

This is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell


Cobbles in Troughs Between Meridiani Ripples (False Color)
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This is a false-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. The false color is used to enhance differences between types of materials in the rocks and soil.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell


Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity
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It's a shame spirt and oppertunity r begining to show thier age. :(

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It's a shame spirt and oppertunity r begining to show thier age. :(

It's hardly surprising that Spirit and Opportunity are showing signs of old age. Both have been operating for more than 820 sols (Martian days). They were designed to last for only 90 sols.

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It's hardly surprising that Spirit and Opportunity are showing signs of old age. Both have been operating for more than 820 sols (Martian days). They were designed to last for only 90 sols.

I didnt say I was suprized, I'm just saying its a shame. They lasted so long and did so much!

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Opportunity's Outcrop Outing

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This composite of three images from the navigation camera shows the view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity toward the southeast, in the direction of "Victoria Crater," on the rover's 817th Martian day, or sol (May 12, 2006). To reach Victoria Crater, still about 1,100 meters (two-thirds of a mile) from this location, the rover must navigate among the large ripples visible on the left and ahead in the distance.

On this sol, Opportunity was preparing to deploy its arm instrument suite to analyze a rock on the outcrop pavement. At upper right is a small depression that was the target of further imaging on sols 825 and 826 (May 20 and 21, 2006).

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Opportunity Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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Disturbed Soil Along the Path from 'Tyrone'


Disturbed Soil Along the Path from 'Tyrone' (Close-Up)

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This view shows tracks created by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit while traveling from the bright soil deposit seen in the upper right, informally named "Tyrone," to the vehicle's current location, dubbed "Winter Haven."

Spirit parked at "Winter Haven" on a small north-facing slope to maximize solar energy input during the Martian winter. This stayover presents an opportunity to do more intensive, long-term investigations of the rover's surroundings than are typically possible during warmer seasons when the vehicle spends more time driving from place to place. One of these activities is assessing the influence of wind by monitoring surface changes. Experience from the Viking Landers of the 1970s suggests that wind-related surface changes are more likely to occur in recently disturbed soil.

Shortly after arriving at Winter Haven, Spirit obtained this high-resolution view of disturbed soil for comparison with future images to help reveal any wind-related surface changes. The view is a mosaic of images of the rover's tracks, obtained through the 750-nanomater filter in the left eye of Spirit's panoramic camera on the rover's 835th Martian day, or sol (May 9, 2006).

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell


Disturbed Soil Along the Path from 'Tyrone'(Panorama)

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Click on image for high resolution version.


This view shows tracks created by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit while traveling from the bright soil deposit seen in the upper right, informally named "Tyrone," to the vehicle's current location, dubbed "Winter Haven."

Spirit parked at "Winter Haven" on a small north-facing slope to maximize solar energy input during the Martian winter. This stayover presents an opportunity to do more intensive, long-term investigations of the rover's surroundings than are typically possible during warmer seasons when the vehicle spends more time driving from place to place. One of these activities is assessing the influence of wind by monitoring surface changes. Experience from the Viking Landers of the 1970s suggests that wind-related surface changes are more likely to occur in recently disturbed soil. This mosaic view combines two cameras' images of disturbed soil in Spirit's tracks, taken shortly after arriving at Winter Haven. It will provide a comparison with future images to help reveal any wind-related surface changes.

The mosaic includes images of the rover's tracks obtained through the left eye of the navigation camera on the rover's 807th Martian day, or sol (April 11, 2006), merged with higher-resolution images obtained through the 750-nanomater filter in the left eye of the panoramic camera on sol 835 (May 9, 2006).

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell



Source: NASA/JPL - Mars Exploration Rovers - Spirit Edited by Waspie_Dwarf
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