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PIA05188: True Colors Shining Through
NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers use color calibration targets to fine-tune the rovers' sense of color and thus, that the observed colors of Mars match the colors of the chips, and thus approximate the red planet's true colors.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER) 
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Panoramic Camera 
 Product Size:  1062 x 802 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Cornell University 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05188.tif (636.4 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05188.jpg (75.92 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:
This image mosaic illustrates how scientists use the color calibration targets (upper left) located on both Mars Exploration Rovers to fine-tune the rovers' sense of color. In the center, spectra, or light signatures, acquired in the laboratory of the colored chips on the targets are shown as lines. Actual data from Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera is mapped on top of these lines as dots. The plot demonstrates that the observed colors of Mars match the colors of the chips, and thus approximate the red planet's true colors. This finding is further corroborated by the picture taken on Mars of the calibration target, which shows the colored chips as they would appear on Earth.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell

Image Addition Date:
2004-02-02