12-Jan-2004
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Spirit's Surroundings Beckon in Color Panorama
Full Press Release
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Mars in Full View
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.)
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
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Landing Trail in 3-D
A three-dimensional color model created using data from the Mars Exploration Rover's panoramic camera shows images of airbag drag marks on the martian surface. The triangular rock in the upper left corner is approximately 20 centimeters (8 inches) tall. The meatball-shaped rock in the upper right corner is approximately 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. The dark portion of the surface, or "trough" is approximately 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) deep at its deepest point. This model is displayed using software developed by NASA's Ames Research Center.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
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Airbag Trail dubbed "Magic Carpet"
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.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
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Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (Zoom)
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.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
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Airbag Trail Dubbed "Magic Carpet" (Zoom2)
This extreme close-up image 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.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
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How Warm is Mars?
This graph shows the predicted daily change in the atmospheric temperature one
meter above the surface of Mars at Gusev Crater, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's landing site. The blue curve denotes predicted values for sol 1 (the first day of Spirit's mission) and the yellow for sol 100 (100 days into the mission). The light blue symbols represent temperatures for a total atmospheric dust abundance of 0.7 visible optical depth units, and the darker blue symbols for a total atmospheric dust abundance of 1.0 visible optical depth units. Scientists use this data to ensure that Spirit stays within the right temperature range.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/ARC/New Mexico State University
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