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Press Release Images: Spirit
30-Dec-2008
Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery
Full Press Release
 
This image is a full-circle 'Bonestell' panorama from Spirit. Notes on this 360-degree panorama from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit indicate locations for several events of the first five Earth years since Spirit landed inside Gusev Crater.
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (Annotated)

Notes on this 360-degree panorama from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit indicate locations for several events of the first five Earth years since Spirit landed inside Gusev Crater.

Spirit landed on January 4, 2004, Universal Time (January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time).

The view is from the spot where Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter, on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate." A dotted line marks the edge of Home Plate, which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.

The images combined into this panoramic view were taken by Spirit beginning on the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) and finishing on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008). The rover stayed in place for most of 2008 because of the low energy available to it during the Martian southern hemisphere winter. Spirit began shifting position to adjust its tilt on Sol 1709 (October 23, 2008), but the rover's location at the end of 2008 is within about a meter (3 feet) of the position from which this panorama was acquired.

The distance measurements shown with the name of a feature indicate the distance of that feature from where Spirit was while taking this image. The units are meters and feet, except for Grissom Hill and the Spirit landing site, for which the units are kilometers and miles. Husband Hill, for example, is seen near the right edge of the panorama, to the north, and its summit is 754 meters (2,413 meters) away. Spirit's landing site is 3.8 kilometers (2.3 miles) away to the northwest, on the Gusev plains.

Where sol numbers are given in the notes on this panorama, they refer to the sol during which Spirit was at or near that feature or position. For example, Spirit reached the summit of Husband Hill on Sol 619 (Sept. 29, 2005). On its way from the base of the Columbia Hills to that height, it spent sols 156 to 312 (June 11 to November 18, 2004) on the West Spur of the Columbia Hills range. It had reached Home Plate and was examining a rock called "Fuzzy Smith" by sols 768 to 771 (March 1 to March 4, 2006). Spirit spent its second Martian winter on Low Ridge to the southeast from this viewpoint, from sol 804 to sol 1036 (April 8 to December 2, 2006). In 2007, it climbed up the south end of Home Plate and left tracks visible at several locations on Home Plate as it approached the location that is the viewpoint for this panorama.

In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill called "Von Braun," capped with a light-toned outcrop. It and a nearby pit ("Goddard," out of sight behind Home Plate) are possible destinations for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer.

This is an approximate true-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 600-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters. This "natural color" view is the rover team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if we were there and able to see it with our own eyes.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University/New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Browse Image | Medium Image (203 kB) | Large (1.8 MB)
Full-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal)
 
This image is a full-circle 'Bonestell' panorama from Spirit  (Stereo). This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater.
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (Stereo)

This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater.

The view combines a stereo pair so that it appears three-dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses, with the red lens on the left.

The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate," which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.

The images combined into this panoramic view were taken by Spirit beginning on the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) and finishing on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008).

The hill on the horizon at far right is Husband Hill, to the north. Spirit acquired a 360-degree panorama from the summit of Husband Hill during August 2005). The hill dominating the left portion of the image is McCool Hill. Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range.

The northwestern edge of Home Plate is visible in the right foreground. The blockier, more sharply shadowed texture there is layered sandstone whose layering is tilted inward toward the edge of the Home Plate platform. The northeastern edge of Home Plate is visible in the left foreground. Spirit first climbed onto Home Plate on that region, in early 2006.

Rover tracks from driving by Spirit are visible on Home Plate in the center and right of the image. These were made during Spirit's second exploration on top of the plateau, which began when Spirit climbed onto the southern edge of Home Plate in September 2007.

In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill capped with a light-toned outcrop. This hill is called "Von Braun," and it is a possible destination for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer. The flat horizon in the right-hand portion of the panorama is the basaltic plain onto which Spirit landed on January 4, 2004 (Universal Time; January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time).

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Browse Image | Medium Image (357 kB) | Large (70.6 MB)
Full-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal)
 
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (False Color)
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit (False Color)

This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate," which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.

This view combines 246 different exposures taken with Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) -- 82 pointings, with three filters at each pointing. Spirit took the first of these frames during the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) two weeks after the rover made its last move to reach the location where it would stop driving for the winter. Solar energy at Gusev Crater is so limited during the Martian winter that Spirit does not generate enough electricity to drive, nor even enough to take many images per day. The last frame for this mosaic was taken on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008). Spirit began moving again on Sol 1709 (October 23, 2008), inching uphill to adjust the angle of its solar panels for the last portion of the winter.

The hill on the horizon at far right is Husband Hill, to the north. Spirit acquired a 360-degree panorama from the summit of Husband Hill during August 2005). The hill dominating the left portion of the image is McCool Hill. Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range.

The northwestern edge of Home Plate is visible in the right foreground. The blockier, more sharply shadowed texture there is layered sandstone whose layering is tilted inward toward the edge of the Home Plate platform. The northeastern edge of Home Plate is visible in the left foreground. Spirit first climbed onto Home Plate on that region, in early 2006.

Rover tracks from driving by Spirit are visible on Home Plate in the center and right of the image. These were made during Spirit's second exploration on top of the plateau, which began when Spirit climbed onto the southern edge of Home Plate in September 2007.

In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill capped with a light-toned outcrop. This hill is called "Von Braun," and it is a possible destination for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer. The flat horizon in the right-hand portion of the panorama is the basaltic plain onto which Spirit landed on January 4, 2004 (Universal Time; January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time).

This is a false-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. The false color enhances visibility of differences among the types of rock and soil material in the image.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University
Browse Image | Medium Image (250 kB) | Large (59 MB)
Full-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal)
 
This image is a full-circle 'Bonestell' panorama from Spirit. This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called 'Home Plate,' which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.
Full-Circle 'Bonestell' Panorama from Spirit

This 360-degree panorama shows the vista from the location where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The rover's overwintering location is on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate," which is about 80 meters or 260 feet in diameter.

This view combines 246 different exposures taken with Spirit's panoramic camera (Pancam) -- 82 pointings, with three filters at each pointing. Spirit took the first of these frames during the mission's 1,477th Martian day, or sol, (February 28, 2008) two weeks after the rover made its last move to reach the location where it would stop driving for the winter. Solar energy at Gusev Crater is so limited during the Martian winter that Spirit does not generate enough electricity to drive, nor even enough to take many images per day. The last frame for this mosaic was taken on Sol 1691 (October 5, 2008). Spirit began moving again on Sol 1709 (October 23, 2008), inching uphill to adjust the angle of its solar panels for the last portion of the winter.

The hill on the horizon at far right is Husband Hill, to the north. Spirit acquired a 360-degree panorama from the summit of Husband Hill during August 2005). The hill dominating the left portion of the image is McCool Hill. Husband and McCool hills are two of the seven principal hills in the Columbia Hills range within Gusev Crater. Home Plate is in the inner basin of the range.

The northwestern edge of Home Plate is visible in the right foreground. The blockier, more sharply shadowed texture there is layered sandstone whose layering is tilted inward toward the edge of the Home Plate platform. The northeastern edge of Home Plate is visible in the left foreground. Spirit first climbed onto Home Plate on that region, in early 2006.

Rover tracks from driving by Spirit are visible on Home Plate in the center and right of the image. These were made during Spirit's second exploration on top of the plateau, which began when Spirit climbed onto the southern edge of Home Plate in September 2007.

In the center foreground, the turret of tools at the end of Spirit's robotic arm appears in duplicate because the arm was repositioned between the days when the images making up that part of the mosaic were taken. On the horizon above the turret, to the south, is a small hill capped with a light-toned outcrop. This hill is called "Von Braun," and it is a possible destination for Spirit during the upcoming Martian southern-hemisphere summer. The flat horizon in the right-hand portion of the panorama is the basaltic plain onto which Spirit landed on January 4, 2004 (Universal Time; January 3, 2004, Pacific Standard Time).

This is an approximate true-color, red-green-blue composite panorama generated from images taken through the Pancam's 600-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 480-nanometer filters. This "natural color" view is the rover team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if we were there and able to see it with our own eyes.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University
Browse Image | Medium Image (203 kB) | Large (44 MB)
Full-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal)

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