Press Release Images: Spirit

02-Feb-2009 Spirit Resumes Driving Full Press Release   Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. South is at the center; north is at both ends. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks on the right-hand side of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (217 kB) | Large (1.1 MB) Full Resolution (7.2 MB)   Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 (Stereo) NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this stereo, full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. South is at the center; north is at both ends. This view combines images from the left-eye and right-eye sides of the navigation camera. It appears three-dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses with the red lens on the left. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks on the right-hand side of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. This view is presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (223 kB) | Large (1.2 MB) Full Resolution (26.4 MB)   Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 (Left Eye) NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this stereo, full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. South is at the center; north is at both ends. This view is the left-eye member of a stereo pair, presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks on the right-hand side of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (227 kB) | Large (1.2 MB) Full Resolution (8.8 MB)   Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 (Right Eye) NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this stereo, full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. South is at the center; north is at both ends. This view is the right-eye member of a stereo pair, presented as a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks on the right-hand side of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (209 kB) | Large (1.1 MB) Full Resolution (8.8 MB) Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 (Polar) NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. North is at the top. This view is presented as a polar projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope (at about the 9-o'clock position in this view) tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks at about the 11-o'clock position of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell Browse Image | Medium Image (130 kB) | Large (1.5 MB) Full Resolution (15.9 MB) Spirit Near "Stapledon" on Sol 1802 (Vertical) NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera for the images assembled into this full-circle view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,802nd Martian day, or sol, (January 26, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. North is at the top. This view is presented as a verical projection with geometric seam correction. Spirit had driven down off the low plateau called "Home Plate" on Sol 1782 (January 6, 2009) after spending 12 months on a north-facing slope on the northern edge of Home Plate. The position on the slope (at about the 9-o'clock position in this view) tilted Spirit's solar panels toward the sun, enabling the rover to generate enough electricity to survive its third Martian winter. Tracks at about the 11-o'clock position of this panorama can be seen leading back to that "Winter Haven 3" site from the Sol 1802 position about 10 meters (33 feet) away. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about one meter (40 inches). Where the receding tracks bend to the left, a circular pattern resulted from Spirit turning in place at a soil target informally named "Stapledon" after William Olaf Stapledon, a British philosopher and science-fiction author who lived from 1886 to 1950. Scientists on the rover team suspected that the soil in that area might have a high concentration of silica, resembling a high-silica soil patch discovered east of Home Plate in 2007. Bright material visible in the track furthest to the right was examined with Spirit's alpha partical X-ray spectrometer and found, indeed, to be rich in silica. The team laid plans to drive Spirit from this Sol 1802 location back up onto Home Plate, then southward for the rover's summer field season. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (183 kB) | Large (1.8 MB) Full Resolution (15.3 MB) Impediment to Spirit Drive on Sol 1806 The hazard avoidance camera on the front of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image after a drive by Spirit on the 1,806th Martian day, or sol, (January 31, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars. The wheel at the bottom right of the image is Spirit's right-front wheel. Because that wheel no longer turns, Spirit drives backwards dragging that wheel. The drive on Sol 1806 covered about 30 centimeters (1 foot). The rover team had planned a longer drive, but Spirit stopped short, apparently from the right front wheel encountering the partially buried rock visible next to that wheel. The hazard avoidance cameras on the front and back of the rover provide wide-angle views. The hill on the horizon in the right half of this image is Husband Hill. Spirit reached the summit of Husband Hill in 2005. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Browse Image | Medium Image (121 kB) | Large (121 kB)

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