PIA00794: Sojourner at "Mermaid Dune"
 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:  512 x 496 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  PIRL / University of Arizona
 Producer ID:  P49068 MRPS82938
 Addition Date:  1997-08-08
 Primary Data Set:  MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA00794.tif (120.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA00794.jpg (48.43 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This color image of the Sojourner rover was taken at the end of day on Sol 30. The rover is perched atop Mermaid Dune, a dark material distinct from the surrounding bright surface. Dark red rover tracks extend from the foreground to the base of the rover's wheels.

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 managed the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

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:
1997-08-08