Mars rover photos land at space museum
The Mars Rover Spirit took this view of a sunset over the rim of Gusev Crater, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. It looks much like a sunset on Earth—a reminder that other worlds can seem eerily familiar. --NASA image.
“Spirit and Opportunity: 10 Years Roving Across Mars,” uses photos taken by the two rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, to explore new views of the red planet that emerged from rover landings that occurred in January 2004 on opposite sides of Mars.
Undertaken to evaluate geologic history and evidence for past water, the mission was expected to last about 92 Earth days, or 90 “sols” (Martian days), but Spirit roved over the planet for more than six years and Opportunity is still operating.
The collection of images in the new exhibition “captures the beauty of Mars while telling the amazing stories of Spirit and Opportunity as they explored water-related deposits,” said John Grant, supervisory geologist in the space museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and chair of the Science Operations Working Group on the mission.
Grant, who curated the show, polled fellow members of the mission team to identify photographs that were scientifically, historically and artistically meaningful.
The exhibit includes images of craters, hills, dunes, dust clouds, meteorites and formations of rocks and spherules (miniature spheres called “blueberries”). One view of the sun setting over the rim of Gusev Crater, where Spirit landed, looks similar to scenes on Earth. A Pancam image by Opportunity, enhanced with color to show geological differences, makes the ancient, eroded Erebus Crater appear to be glowing.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a panoramic blowup, wrapping two entire walls that surround a case holding a full-scale model of a rover — giving the visitor a sense of being on Mars. Also on display are several pieces of equipment, including a wheel used in testing rovers on Earth. Accompanying the exhibit are three videos: an animation of a rover descending and landing, and two compilations of images shot on the planet, one by Spirit, the other by Opportunity.
The twin rovers were launched in the summer of 2003. When they arrived on Mars the following January, they made a harrowing descent through the thin atmosphere, parachuting to the surface where they bounced down on inflated airbags. Both rovers made discoveries relating to the role of water in shaping the surface, findings that suggest past environments could have been habitable.
The driving goal for each was 1 kilometer (about 2/3 mile). Spirit traversed more than 7.7 kilometers (about 4 miles), exploring volcanic plains, impact craters, the Columbia Hills and volcanic deposits. Opportunity, which landed on the Meridiani Plains, had traversed more than 38 kilometers (23 miles) by August 2013. It has explored sedimentary rocks, meteorites and impact craters.
Photos of landscapes and geological formations taken by the rover cameras also provide views of rover equipment, shadows made by the rovers and tracks the rovers left behind. One such image shows tracks disappearing toward the horizon like the wake of a ship in a sea of sand. Opportunity took the image while stuck in a sand ripple dubbed “Purgatory” for more than a month.
“Spirit and Opportunity: 10 Years Roving Across Mars” was made possible through the support of Cornell University, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and NASA.
Undertaken to evaluate geologic history and evidence for past water, the mission was expected to last about 92 Earth days, or 90 “sols” (Martian days), but Spirit roved over the planet for more than six years and Opportunity is still operating.
The collection of images in the new exhibition “captures the beauty of Mars while telling the amazing stories of Spirit and Opportunity as they explored water-related deposits,” said John Grant, supervisory geologist in the space museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and chair of the Science Operations Working Group on the mission.
Grant, who curated the show, polled fellow members of the mission team to identify photographs that were scientifically, historically and artistically meaningful.
The exhibit includes images of craters, hills, dunes, dust clouds, meteorites and formations of rocks and spherules (miniature spheres called “blueberries”). One view of the sun setting over the rim of Gusev Crater, where Spirit landed, looks similar to scenes on Earth. A Pancam image by Opportunity, enhanced with color to show geological differences, makes the ancient, eroded Erebus Crater appear to be glowing.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a panoramic blowup, wrapping two entire walls that surround a case holding a full-scale model of a rover — giving the visitor a sense of being on Mars. Also on display are several pieces of equipment, including a wheel used in testing rovers on Earth. Accompanying the exhibit are three videos: an animation of a rover descending and landing, and two compilations of images shot on the planet, one by Spirit, the other by Opportunity.
The twin rovers were launched in the summer of 2003. When they arrived on Mars the following January, they made a harrowing descent through the thin atmosphere, parachuting to the surface where they bounced down on inflated airbags. Both rovers made discoveries relating to the role of water in shaping the surface, findings that suggest past environments could have been habitable.
The driving goal for each was 1 kilometer (about 2/3 mile). Spirit traversed more than 7.7 kilometers (about 4 miles), exploring volcanic plains, impact craters, the Columbia Hills and volcanic deposits. Opportunity, which landed on the Meridiani Plains, had traversed more than 38 kilometers (23 miles) by August 2013. It has explored sedimentary rocks, meteorites and impact craters.
Photos of landscapes and geological formations taken by the rover cameras also provide views of rover equipment, shadows made by the rovers and tracks the rovers left behind. One such image shows tracks disappearing toward the horizon like the wake of a ship in a sea of sand. Opportunity took the image while stuck in a sand ripple dubbed “Purgatory” for more than a month.
“Spirit and Opportunity: 10 Years Roving Across Mars” was made possible through the support of Cornell University, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and NASA.
--This report was taken from a Smithsonian Institution press release.
Related:
NASA marks 10th anniversary of rover landing on Mars
