PIA04305: "Marie Curie" During ORT6


“Marie Curie” During ORT6

Caption:

"Marie Curie" sits on the lander petal prior to deployment during the pre launch Operations Readiness Test (ORT) 6.

Pathfinder, a low-cost Discovery mission, is the first of a new fleet of spacecraft that are planned to explore Mars over thenext ten years. Mars Global Surveyor, already en route, arrives at Mars on September 11 to begin a two year orbital reconnaissance of the planet's composition, topography, and climate. Additional orbiters and landers will follow every 26 months.

Background Info:

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) Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Instrument Host Mars Pathfinder Lander Mars Global Surveyor
Host Type Lander Orbiter
Instrument Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP)
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2003-02-03
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Caltech
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04305
Identifier PIA04305