PIA04986: Spirit's Descent to Mars-1433m


Spirit’s Descent to Mars-1433m

Caption:

This image, taken by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's lander, shows a view of Gusev Crater as the lander descends to Mars. The picture is taken at an altitude of 1433 meters. Numerous small impact craters can be seen on the surface of the planet. These images help the onboard software to minimize the lander's horizontal velocity before its bridal is cut, and it falls freely to the surface of Mars.

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 Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES)
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Impact
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-01-04
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04986
Identifier PIA04986