Press Conference Day
Dr. Matthew Golombek, JPL
Mars Pathfinder Project Scientist
sol35l.gif
The Sojourner rover is next to the rock "Wedge" in this image
taken on Sol 35. From this position, the rover took an image of Wedge from
its rear color camera (see sol35r.gif). The cylindrical instrument protruding
from the rear of Sojourner is the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS),
an instrument that measures the chemical composition of rocks and soils.
The APXS was successfully deployed against Wedge on the night of Sol 37
(see sol37l.gif and sol37r.gif). |
sol35r.gif
This image of the rock "Wedge" was taken from the Sojourner
rover's rear color camera on Sol 37 (the position of the rover relative
to Wedge is seen in sol35l.gif). The rock exhibits a rough texture consisting
of small protrusions and pits. The rocks in the background comprise the
"Rock Garden",where Sojourner visited after investigating Wedge. |
sol37l.gif
This image taken on Sol 37 shows the Sojourner rover backed next to the
rock "Wedge." The Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), the
bright object visible above the rear most wheel, is deployed on to the surface
of Wedge. During the night of Sol 37 the APXS successfully measured the
chemical composition of the rock. A close-up of Wedge and the APXS deployed
on its surface is seen in sol37r.gif. |
sol37r.gif
This image of the rock "Wedge" was taken from the Sojourner
rover's rear color camera on Sol 37 (the position of the rover relative
to Wedge is seen in sol37l.gif). The segmented rod visible in the middle
of the frame is the deployment arm for the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer
(APXS).The APXS, the bright, cylindrical object at the end of the arm, is
positioned against Wedge and is designed to measure the rock's chemical
composition. This was done successfully on the night of Sol 37. |
sol39l.gif
This image of the Mars Pathfinder lander was taken from the Sojourner
rover's left front camera on Sol 39. Deflated air bags are visible at the
base of the spacecraft. The American flag and the letters "JPL"
are seen on Pathfinder's white electronics housing. The mast for the Pathfinder
camera extends upward from the top of the housing. The front rover ramp
is perched on top of the air bags and is several feet above the ground.
Because of this precarious position, Sojourner used the rear ramp to reach
the surface on Sol 2. The large rock visible behind the air bags is "Yogi." |
sol41-S55.gif
This image of the Sojourner rover was taken near the end of daytime operations
on Sol 41. The right front wheel is parked on a small rock, perching the
left front wheel above the surface. Behind the rover is the rock "Wedge,"
which was studied by Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer on the
night of Sol 37. |
sol42-S55.gif
This image of the Sojourner rover was taken near the end of daytime operations
on Sol 42. The rover is between the rocks "Wedge" (left)and "Flute
Top" (right). Other rocks visible include "Flat Top" (behind
Flute Top) and those in the rock garden, at the top of the frame. The cylindrical
object extending from the back end of Sojourner is the Alpha Proton X-Ray
Spectrometer. |
sol42.gif
This image of the rock "Flat Top" was taken from one of the
Sojourner rover's front cameras on Sol 42. Pits on the edge of the rock
and a fluted surface are clearly visible. The rocks in the left background
comprise the Rock Garden. |
sol44l.gif
This image taken on Sol 44 shows the Sojourner rover with its left front
and middle wheels perched on the rock "Wedge." The rover's Alpha
Proton X-ray Spectrometer is the cylindrical object extending from the back
of the rover. |
sol47l.gif
This image taken on Sol 47 shows the Sojourner rover with its left rear
wheel perched on the rock "Wedge." The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray
Spectrometer is the cylindrical object extending from the back of the rover. |
sol50_eod.gif
This image taken near the end of daytime operations on Sol 50 shows the
Sojourner rover between the rocks "Wedge" (foreground) and "Shark"(behind
rover). The rover successfully deployed its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer
on Shark on Sol 52. |
rover_movie_sol39.gif
This movie shows the Sojourner rover backing off the rock "Wedge"
on Sol 39. At the end of the film the rover bumps in to the rock "Hassock." |
rover_movie_sol52_S0050A.gif
This movie shows the Sojourner rover positioning itself near the rock
"Shark" on Sol 52. The rover's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer
was successfully deployed on to Shark that evening. |
Sol52_eod.gif
This image shows the Sojourner rover next to the rock "Shark"near
the end of daytime operations on Sol 52. The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray
Spectrometer is deployed against the rock |
rock_garden.jpg
This image mosaic shows the "Rock Garden", the region of the
Pathfinder landing site that the Sojourner rover started investigating on
Sol 52. The Rock Garden is the assemblage of several large boulders in the
middle left of the frame. The Twin Peaks are visible in the distance. |
|
Dr. Tim Schofield, JPL
Atmospheric Structure/Meteorology Package Team Leader
Dr. Mark Lemmon, University of Arizona
Mars Pathfinder Imaging Team
83621f.jpg
On Sol 39 there were wispy blue clouds in the pre-dawn sky of Mars, as
seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. The color image was made by taking
blue, green, and red images and then combining them into a single color
image. The clouds appear to have a bluish side and a greenish side because
they moved (in the wind from the northeast) between images. This picture
was made an hour and twenty minutes before sunrise -- the sun is not shining
directly on the water ice clouds, but they are illuminated by the dawn twilight. |
83616f_th.jpg
These clouds from Sol 15 have a new look. As water ice clouds cover the
sky, the sky takes on a more bluish cast. This is because small particles
(perhaps a tenth the size of the Martian dust, or one-thousandth the thickness
of a human hair) are bright in blue light, but almost invisible in red light.
Thus, scientists expect that the ice particles in the clouds are very small.
The clouds were imaged by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). |
sr39_32.jpg
These are more wispy blue clouds from Sol 39 as seen by the Imager for
Mars Pathfinder. The bright clouds near the bottom are about 10 degrees
above the horizon. The clouds are believed to be at an altitude of 10 to
15 km, and are thought to be made of small water ice particles. The picture
was taken about 40 minutes before sunrise. |
sr39_43.gif
These are more wispy blue clouds from Sol 39 as seen by the Imager for
Mars Pathfinder. The bright clouds near the bottom are about 30 degrees
above the horizon. The clouds are believed to be at an altitude of 10 to
15 km, and are thought to be made of small water ice particles. The picture
was taken about 35 minutes before sunrise |
ss24_0.jpg
This is a close-up of the sunset on Sol 24. The red sky in the background
and the blue around the Sun are approximately as they would appear to the
human eye. The color of the Sun itself is not right -- the Sun was over
exposed in each of the 3 color images that were used to make this picture.The
true color of the Sun itself may be near white or slightly bluish |
sunset_new.jpg
This image of the Martian sunset from Sol 24 shows much more color variation
than had previously been seen. The blue color near the Sun is not caused
by clouds of water ice, but by the Martian dust itself. The dust in the
atmosphere absorbs blue light, giving the sky its red color, but it also
scatters some of the blue light into the area just around the Sun because
of its size. The blue color only becomes apparent near sunrise and sunset,
when the light has to pass through the largest amount of dust. |
Howard Eisen, JPL
Principal Investigator, Soil Mechanics Technology Experiment
Poptart.gif
Source: Rover Front Right Camera
Pop-tart, a small rock or indurated soil material was pushed out of the
surrounding drift material by Sojourner's front left wheel during a soil
mechanics experiment |
RF26110.gif
Source: Rover Front Right Camera
The Rover is located next to Pooh bear(rock at left) and Piglet (not seen)as
it looks out toward Mermaid Dune. The soil textures differ from the foreground
where the soil a poorly sorted mix of small rocks, fines and clods to the
area a bit ahead of the rover where the surface is covered with a bright
drift material.Soil experiments where the rover wheels dug in the soil revealed
that the cloddy material exists underneath the drift. |
front_yogi.gif
Source: IMP
The Rover, while on its way to Yogi, performed several soil mechanics experiments.
Piles of loose material churned up from the experiment are seen in front
of and behind the Rover. Pop-tart is visible near the front right rover
wheel. |
Shaggy_sol23.gif
Source:IMP
The IMP caught this image of the Rover as it was digging in the "compressible"
material near Casper to determine the soil's mechanical properties.Shaggy
is the large rock behind the Rover. |
MARS PATHFINDER MISSION STATUS
28 August 1997, 8:00 a.m. PDT
We have completed another successful day of operations at
the Sagan Memorial Station. Earth rise on Sol 54 occurred at 8:55 pm PDT
Wednesday night and sunrise occured at 11:45 pm.
The lander continues to be in excellent health. The activities
for today were to acquire more super pan imaging data and additional weather
measurements. In addition we are performing a special test with the approaching
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. This test involves near simultaneous tracking
and will demonstrate the technique that will be used for the Mars Surveyor
98 mission.
The rover remains healthy with the exception of continued
accelerometer and gyro noise problems. The plan for today was to turn slightly
and place the APXS on the rock Half Dome. While performing the turn we tripped
a potential hazard limit which terminated the activity. In this case it
was due to one of the wheels riding up on the side of the rock and producing
a larger than expected rover tilt angle . These limits are set very conservatively
to ensure the the rover does not tip over . Engineers will look the rover
engineering data and pictures taken by the lander camera to determine if
it is safe relax these limits and continue to perform the turn tomorrow.
For further information on the Mars Pathfinder Mission, please
call our Mission Status Report line at 1-800-391-6654.
MARS PATHFINDER MISSION STATUS
27 August 1997, 7:30 a.m. PDT
If you were standing on Mars this morning you would have seen
the Earth rise at 8:15 pm PDT and the Sun rise at 11:05 pm PDT. You also
have been fairly cold when you woke up as was the lander when it woke up
around sunrise with the temperature of the main computer being -25 Celsius.
All data after wake up indicated the rover and lander are
in good health and today was a very successful day of moving the rover and
taking science data on the lander. Sojourner did send down data today related
to the composition of the rock Shark which we placed the APXS on yesterday.
Analysis of this data will help determine the composition of Shark. In its
move today to the nearby rock Half Dome the rover backed up turned and moved
forward to deploy the APXS onto Half Dome. In navigating to Half Dome Sojourner
climbed up Half Dome and was subsequently too high for the APXS to be touching
the rock. The rover team is currently planning a strategy for tomorrow which
may include continuing to try get the APXS down on to Half Dome and moving
on to nearby rocks for APXS measurements.
The lander is also in great shape today as the high gain pointing
continues to be good and the camera and ASI/MET science instruments are
working as expected. Additional weather and imaging data is being collected.
As the day ends on Mars today the Earth will set at 9:35 am
PDT and the Sun will set at 11:35 am PDT. For further information on the
Mars Pathfinder Mission, please call our Mission Status Report line at 1-800-391-6654. |
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