PIA05337: Spirit Digs a Trench
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Hazcam
 Product Size:  1024 x 1024 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05337.tif (1.018 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05337.jpg (127.5 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:
A view from the front hazard avoidance camera of NASA's Spirit rover on its 47th sol shows a trench excavated by the rover's left front wheel within the "Laguna Hollow" area. The trench, dubbed "Road Cut," is 7 centimeters (3 inches) deep. The soil at this location is more cohesive than the material where Spirit's twin, Opportunity, dug its first trench at Meridiani. Spirit made 11 back-and-forth passes to dig this trench, and still did not produce as deep a hole as Opportunity dug in 6 passes. Scientists and engineers plan to begin up-close inspection of the soil in this trench on sol 48 by placing the microscopic imager on the floor and the walls before conducting Moessbauer and alpha particle x-ray spectrometer readings on some of the same points.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
2004-02-20