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Mars Pathfinder - Welcome to Mars!
Mars Pathfinder
Welcome to Mars!
Landing Day!
Friday, 4 July, 1997
11:20 pm Pacific Daylight Time
ROVER STATUS
CURRENT SCIENCE RESULTS
CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS
Current
Atmospheric Temperature
(University of Washington)
CURRENT ENGINEERING DATA
(presently cruise data from the last tracking pass)
Image #1 - The Sojourner rover and undeployed ramps onboard the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft can be seen in in this image, by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 4 (Sol 1). This image has been corrected for the curvature created by parallax. The microrover Sojourner is latched to the petal, and has not yet been deployed. The ramps are a pair of deployable metal reels which will provide a track for the rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, over the spacecraft's deflated airbags, and onto the surface of Mars. Pathfinder scientists will use this image to determine whether it is safe to deploy the ramps. One or both of the ramps will be unfurled, and then scientists will decide whether the rover will use either the forward or backward ramp for its descent.
Image #2 - Several prominent features of Mars Pathfinder and surrounding terrain are seen in this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder on July 4 (Sol 1), the spacecraft's first day on the Red Planet.
Portions of a lander petal are at the lower part of the image. At the left, the mechanism for the high-
gain antenna can be seen. The dark area along the right side of the image represents a portion of the
low-gain antenna. The radiation calibration target is at the right. The calibration target is made up
of a number of materials with well-characterized colors. The known colors of the calibration
targets allow scientists to determine the true colors of the rocks and soils of Mars. Three bulls-eye
rings provide a wide range of brightness for the camera, similar to a photographers grayscale
chart. In the middle of the bulls-eye is a 5-inch tall post that casts a shadow, which is distorted in
this image due to its location with respect to the lander camera. A large rock is located at the near center of the image. Smaller rocks and areas of soil are strewn
across the Martian terrain up to the horizon line.
Image #3 - This image of the Martian surface was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) before sunset on July 4 (Sol 1), the spacecraft's first day on Mars. The airbags have been partially retracted, and portions the petal holding the undeployed rover Sojourner can be seen at lower left.
The rock in the center of the image may be a future target for chemical analysis. The soil in the foreground has been disturbed by the movement of the airbags as they retracted.
CURRENT LANDING ESTIMATE
AN ARCHIVE OF CURRENT IMAGES
See live video and listen to live audio
broadcasts
of the Mars Pathfinder mission from NASA Select TV!
MARS PATHFINDER HOME PAGE
Reference: alienspress.blogspot.com
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