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NASA's Mars rovers pass the 50,000-picture mark MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT Posted: October 30, 2004 A view of the sundial-like calibration target on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, with a bit of martian terrain in the background, is the 50,000th image from the twin rovers that have been exploring Mars since January.
There are now more than twice as many images from the two rovers as from NASA's three previous Mars surface missions combined: Viking Lander 1, Viking Lander 2 and Mars Pathfinder. "The cameras on Spirit and Opportunity have been reliable, sharp eyes for our adventure of exploring some amazing places on Mars," said Dr. Justin Maki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., an imaging scientist on the rover team. "The pictures continue to be stunning. One big difference from earlier Mars surface missions is that the rovers continue to show us new places and new sights." All raw images that reach Earth from the rovers are posted online. Captioned pictures, including the 50,000th image and panoramas assembled from many individual raw images, are posted here. Both rovers have successfully completed their three-month primary missions and their first mission extensions. They began second extensions of their missions on Oct. 1. Counting stereo instruments as separate right and left cameras, each rover carries nine cameras. The stereo panoramic cameras have taken most of the images. Spirit's accounts for 35 percent of the all images from the rovers so far; Opportunity's, 32 percent. Color pictures from these cameras combine individual frames taken through different filters. Mosaic image products stitch together many contiguous frames for a larger view. A single 360-degree color panorama uses more than 100 individual images. Usually when a panoramic camera is used, it takes a series of shots of the calibration target through different filters to aid in accurate interpretation of the other shots it takes. It is no surprise that Spirit's calibration target happened to be the subject in the 50,000th image, since it has become the single most photographed subject on Mars. Spirit's front hazard-avoidance camera (also two cameras for stereo views) has the next highest fraction of the rovers' image catalog at 9 percent. That signifies the importance of this low-slung camera in Spirit racking up 3.6 kilometers (2.3 miles) of driving so far. Opportunity has driven 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) and its front hazard-avoidance camera has taken 3 percent of all rover images. Totals for the rear hazard-avoidance cameras are about one-fifth of the number from the front cameras on each rover. Each rover's stereo navigation camera sits up on the mast with the panoramic camera but takes wider-angle images without filters. Spirit's navigation camera has taken 7 percent, and Opportunity's 6 percent, of all rover images. Some days when Spirit was driving long distances, Opportunity was busy examining bedrock exposures and soil patches with its microscopic imager. That camera on Opportunity has taken 4 percent of all rover images; the one on Spirit, 2 percent. Each spacecraft had a 10th camera on the bottom of its lander, which contained the rover during the descent through Mars' atmosphere. Those descent cameras each took three images, as planned, during the final minute before impact. NASA's Viking Lander 1 returned 3,542 images while it operated for 79 months beginning in 1976. Viking Lander 2 returned 3,043 images while it operated for 43 months, also beginning in 1976. Mars Pathfinder returned 16,635 images from its lander and 628 from its Sojourner rover during 12 weeks of operation in 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA. |
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This amazing panorama of the martian surface at Columbia Hills was taken by the Spirit rover. Expert narration is provided by camera scientist Jim Bell. (2min 12sec file)
Mars Exploration Rover project manager Jim Erickson and panoramic camera lead scientist Jim Bell offer comments on the status of the Spirit and Opportunity missions (1min 33sec file)
The first stage of Boeing's Delta 2 rocket that will launch NASA's Swift gamma-ray burst detection observatory in November is erected on pad 17A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (4min 52sec file)
The three solid-fueled rocket boosters for the Boeing Delta 2 vehicle that will launch the Swift satellite are hoisted into the pad 17A mobile service tower. (4min 55sec file)
The mobile service tower carries the solid boosters into position for attachment to the Delta 2 rocket's first stage. (3min 08sec file)
The two halves of the 10-foot diameter rocket nose cone that will enclose NASA's Swift satellite during launch aboard a Boeing Delta 2 vehicle are lifted into the pad 17A tower. (4min 26sec file)
The International Space Station crew holds an educational event to answers questions live with students at the Maryland Science Center. (24min 01sec file)
The solar wind samples retrieved by NASA's Genesis spacecraft finally arrive at Johnson Space Center facilities from the Utah landing site. (2min 51sec file)