PIA03232: Special-Effects Spirit Silhouetted on "Jibsheet"


Special-Effects Spirit Silhouetted on “Jibsheet”

Caption:

This synthetic image of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover on top of a rock called "Jibsheet" was produced using "Virtual Presence in Space" technology. Developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., this technology combines visualization and image-processing tools with Hollywood-style special effects. The image was created using a photorealistic model of the rover and a false-color mosaic. The size of the rover in the image is approximately correct and was based on the size of the rover tracks in the mosaic. The mosaic was assembled from frames taken by the panoramic camera on the rover's 489th Martian day, or sol (May 19, 2005); see PIA07997 .

Because this synthesis provides viewers with a sense of their own "virtual presence" (as if they were there themselves), such views can be useful to mission teams in planning exploration by enhancing perspective and a sense of scale.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2005-11-21
Date in Caption 2005-05-19
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Solar System Visualization Team
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03232
Identifier PIA03232