PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA05657: Visiting the Scene of Landing
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Opportunity
 Instrument:  Hazcam
 Product Size:  1014 x 1014 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05657.tif (632.8 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05657.jpg (52.23 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 from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's front hazard-avoidance camera focuses on the rock dubbed "Bounce," which the rover's airbag-wrapped lander hit upon landing. Though the plains surrounding Opportunity's "Eagle Crater" landing site are relatively free of any hazards that would have hindered landing, the packaged rover managed to bounce down on one of the only rocks in the vicinity. The rock measures approximately 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) across.

Bounce -- a rock that differs significantly from the light rocks in the Eagle Crater outcrop -- is currently being investigated by Opportunity. So far, the rover's miniature thermal emission spectrometer has revealed that it is rich in hematite. In the coming sols, a target yet to be chosen on the rock will be examined by the rover's spectrometers, then ground into by the rock abrasion tool. After the grind, the spectrometers will assess the chemical content of the exposed rock.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
2004-03-30