PIA01135: Sojourner Rover View of Sockets and Pebbles
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Pathfinder Rover
 Instrument:  Rover Cameras 
 Product Size:  370 x 288 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Producer ID:  P49705 MRPS86811
 Addition Date:  1998-01-07
 Other  
Information: 
Science Magazine, 5 December, 1997
 Primary Data Set:  MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA01135.tif (107 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA01135.jpg (22.69 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:

Well-rounded objects, like the ones in this image, were not seen at the Viking sites. These are thought to be pebbles liberated from sedimentary rocks composed of cemented silts, sands and rounded fragments; such rocks are called conglomerates. The "sockets" could be the former sites of such pebbles.

NOTE: original caption as published in Science magazine

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).

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:
1998-01-07