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| Area "a" |
Area "b" |
Area "c" |
Area "d" |
This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the landing site of the Mars
Exploration Rover Spirit. The impact crater in the upper left portion of
the image is "Bonneville Crater," which was investigated by Spirit shortly
after landing. In the lower right portion of the image is "Husband Hill,"
a large hill that Spirit climbed and spent much of its now nearly
three-year mission.
The bright irregularly shaped feature in area "a" of the image is Spirit's
parachute, now lying on the Martian surface. Near the parachute is the
cone-shaped back shell, which helped protect Spirit's lander during its
seven-month journey to Mars. The back shell appears relatively undamaged
by its impact with the Martian surface. Wrinkles and folds in the
parachute fabric are clearly visible.
Area "b" of the image shows Spirit's lander. The crater in the upper left
portion of the image, just northwest of the lander, was informally named
"Sleepy Hollow" by the Mars Exploration Rover team.
Area "c" of the image shows Spirit's heat shield at the edge of Bonneville
Crater.
Area "d" of the image shows the current location of Spirit. Toward the top
of the image is "Home Plate," a plateau of layered rocks that Spirit
explored during the early part of its third year on Mars. Spirit itself is
clearly seen just southeast of Home Plate. Also visible are the tracks
made by the rover before it arrived at its current location.
This image is a small portion of an image (catalogued as PSP_001513_1655)
taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on Sept.
29, 2006. The full image is centered at minus 7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5
degrees east longitude. The image is oriented such that north is toward
the top. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At
this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (11.7 inches) per pixel
(with 1 by 1 binning), so objects as small as about 89 centimeters (35
inches) across are resolved. The image was taken at 3:30 p.m. local Mars
time. The scene is illuminated from the west with a solar-incidence angle
of 59.7 degrees, which means the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the
horizon. When the image was taken, the season on Mars was southern winter.
Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional
information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online
at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro or http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu.
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, http://www.nasa.gov.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera was built by Ball
Aerospace Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.
