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  

PIA12159: Uphill Climb
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Spirit
 Product Size:  3008 x 1726 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA12159.tif (15.58 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA12159.jpg (537.8 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:

Mars Exploration Rover team members continued longer-duration test runs this week, driving the test rover forward and uphill in a crab-like position. These long-duration drives will continue through the end of next week.

Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are using a test rover in a box filled with soil to mimic the Martian surface to test a combination of maneuvers that may be used to free the Spirit rover, which is dug in on Mars in soft soil called "Troy." Pictured are Matt Van Kirk with Sharon Laubach.

To see updates on the efforts to free the Spirit rover, visit the JPL Free Spirit website.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2009-07-30