PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA00788: Lander and "Mini Matterhorn" Rock
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Pathfinder Rover
 Instrument:  Rover Cameras 
 Product Size:  540 x 343 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  PIRL / University of Arizona
 Producer ID:  P49043 MRPS82461
 Addition Date:  1997-08-07
 Primary Data Set:  MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA00788.tif (150.2 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA00788.jpg (22.81 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:

One of the two forward cameras aboard the Sojourner rover took this image of the Sagan Memorial Station on Sol 26. The angular resolution of the camera is about three milliradians (.018 degrees) per pixel, which is why the image appears grainy. The field of view of each rover camera is about 127 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically.

Features seen on the lander include (from left to right): the Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package (ASI/MET) mast with windsocks; the low-gain antenna mast, the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on its mast at center; the disc-shaped high-gain antenna at right, and areas of deflated airbags. The dark circle on the lander body is a filtered vent that allowed air to escape during launch, and allowed the lander to repressurize upon landing. The high-gain antenna is pointed at Earth. The large rock "Yogi," which Sojourner has approached and studied, as at the far right of the image. "Mini Matterhorn" is the large rock situated in front of the lander at left.

The horizontal line at the center of the image is due to differences in light-metering for different portions of the image. The shadow of Sojourner and its antenna are visible at the lower section of the image. The antenna's shadow falls across a light-colored rock.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages and Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (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/University of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
1997-08-07