PIA01137: Sojourner Rover Tracks in Compressible Soil
Target Name: Mars
Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun)
Mission: Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
Spacecraft: Mars Pathfinder Rover
Instrument: Rover Cameras
Product Size: 288 samples x 288 lines
Produced By: JPL
Producer ID: P49707
MRPS86813
Addition Date: 1998-01-07
Other Information: Science Magazine, 5 December, 1997
Primary Data Set: MARS_PATHFINDER_PAGE
Full-Res TIFF: PIA01137.tif (81.45 kB)
Full-Res JPEG: PIA01137.jpg (15.58 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:
Sojourner's observations in the Ares region on Mars raise and answer questions about the origins of the rocks and other deposits found there. Deposits are not the same everywhere. In compressible soil, a rover wheel produced ruts with steep walls, marginal slumps, and nearly perfect reflective casts of the spacing between the cleats.

NOTE: original caption as published in Science Magazine

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 a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
1998-01-07