PIA07082: Closeup View of Compacted Soil
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Instrument:  Microscopic Imager
 Product Size:  1024 x 1024 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA07082.tif (1.05 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA07082.jpg (173.9 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

Soil on Mars can be a bit clumpy, as shown in this image of soil after it was compacted by one of the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Scientists think the light-colored material may be a global layer of airfall dust. Spirit's microscopic imager took this picture, showing an area approximately 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) square, during the rover's 314th martian day, or sol (Nov. 19, 2004).

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS

Image Addition Date:
2004-11-30