PIA00640: Terrain and Rock "Couch"
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Pathfinder Lander
 Instrument:  Imager for Mars Pathfinder 
 Product Size:  640 x 480 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Producer ID:  P48848 MRPS81298
 Addition Date:  1997-07-07
 Primary Data Set:  MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA00640.tif (249 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA00640.jpg (42.05 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This new [sic] view of the rock dubbed "Couch" was taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. Earlier images, taken by the undeployed IMP, hinted that Couch was balanced upon the rectangular rock approximately three-quarters of the way up from the bottom of the image. The deployed IMP, standing 1.8 meters above the Martian surface, has now revealed Couch to be a free-standing object positioned at the Martian horizon.

The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.

Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
1997-07-07