PIA00666: Rocky Terrain & Airbags


Rocky Terrain & Airbags

Caption:

An area of very rocky terrain at the Ares Vallis landing site, along with the lander's deflated airbags, were imaged by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The two dark lines are missing data.

Background Info:

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.

Photojournal note: Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, acquiring images, and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. The final data transmission received from Pathfinder was at 10:23 UTC on September 27, 1997. Although mission managers tried to restore full communications during the following five months, the successful mission was terminated on March 10, 1998.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Pathfinder (MPF)
Instrument Host Mars Pathfinder Lander
Host Type Lander
Instrument Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP)
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Grayscale
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1997-07-10
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00666
Identifier PIA00666