PIA00922: Disturbing "Pop-Tart"
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Pathfinder Rover
 Instrument:  Imager for Mars Pathfinder 
 Product Size:  687 x 345 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Producer ID:  MRPS83633
 Addition Date:  1997-08-28
 Primary Data Set:  MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA00922.tif (73.26 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA00922.jpg (28.67 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:

The Sojourner rover's front right camera imaged Pop-tart, a small rock or indurated soil material which was pushed out of the surrounding drift material by Sojourner's front left wheel during a soil mechanics experiment.

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 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). 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

Image Addition Date:
1997-08-28