Image:Mars hires x pubeng heatshield zoombox-A080R1 br2.jpg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image
File history
File links

Image:Mars hires x pubeng heatshield zoombox-A080R1 br2.jpg

No higher resolution available.

Mars_hires_x_pubeng_heatshield_zoombox-A080R1_br2.jpg‎ (442 × 188 pixel, file size: 51 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this panoramic camera image mosaic (not shown in this cropped image) on the 68th martian day, or sol, of its mission (March 12, 2004). The reflective speck about 200 meters (650 feet) away, on the far crater rim, was immediately a point of interest for scientists and engineers alike. They soon were able to identify it as Spirit's protective heatshield.

While the debris is too far away to make out clearly, orbital imagery of the area acquired before and after Spirit landed supports scientists' and engineers' conclusion. Prior to Spirit's landing, the surface at this location appeared undisturbed in orbital images, while post-landing images revealed a large gouge where the heatshield now rests.

The smaller image in the box at the lower left corner (shown in full in this cropped image) provides a closer look at the heatshield, and was taken at a lower compression by the panoramic camera on sol 69 (March 13, 2004). Lower compression results in higher quality images. While both the full panorama and close-up are depicted in approximate true color, their colors vary slightly because different filters were used to acquire them. The close-up image was taken with the 600, 530 and 480 nanometer filters. The large mosaic was taken with the 750, 530 and 480 nanometer filters.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

[edit] Source

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040324a.html
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/spirit/20040324a/x_pubeng_heatshield_zoombox-A080R1_br2.jpg (cropped to isolate heatshield)

[edit] See also

Image of Opportunity's heat shield

This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy).

Warnings:

NASA logos (which include the current "meatball" logo, the old "worm" logo, and the seal) are copyrighted.
Materials from the Hubble Space Telescope may be copyrighted if they do not explicitly come from the STScI. [1]
All materials created by the SOHO probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2]
Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3]

File history

Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version.
Click on date to download the file or see the image uploaded on that date.