PIA00646: Sojourner's APXS at work
Sojourner's APXS at work
Target Name: Mars
Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun)
Mission: Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
Spacecraft: Mars Pathfinder Lander
Instrument: Imager for Mars Pathfinder
Product Size: 454 samples x 261 lines
Produced By: JPL
Producer ID: P48871
MRPS81088
Addition Date: 1997-07-09
Primary Data Set: MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
Full-Res TIFF: PIA00646.tif (113.7 kB)
Full-Res JPEG: PIA00646.jpg (23.29 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:
The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The rover Sojourner has traveled to an area of soil and several rocks. Its tracks are clearly visible in the soft soil seen in the foreground, and were made in part by the rover's material abrasion experiment. Scientists were able to control the force of the rover's cleated wheels to help determine the physical properties of the soil. In this image, Sojourner is using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study an area of soil. Sunlight is striking the area from the left, creating shadows under Sojourner and at the right of local rocks. The large rock Yogi can be seen at upper right.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
1997-07-09