[分享] [酷图] “机遇”号陆续发回火星表面高清晰彩图！

meteorobs

“机遇”号在“耐力”陨石坑底。

Color View of a 'Rat' Hole Trail Inside 'Endurance'
7/27/04
This view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is an approximately true color rendering of the first seven holes that the rover's rock abrasion tool dug on the inner slope of "Endurance Crater." The rover was about 12 meters (about 39 feet) down into the crater when it acquired the images combined into this mosaic. The view is looking back toward the rim of the crater, with the rover's tracks visible. The tailings around the holes drilled by the rock abrasion tool, or "Rat," show evidence for fine-grained red hematite similar to what was observed months earlier in "Eagle Crater" outcrop holes.
Starting from the uppermost pictured (closest to the crater rim) to the lowest, the rock abrasion tool hole targets are called "Tennessee," "Cobblehill," "Virginia," "London," "Grindstone," "Kettlestone," and "Drammensfjorden." Opportunity drilled these holes on sols 138 (June 13, 2004), 143 (June 18), 145 (June 20), 148 (June 23), 151 (June 26), 153 (June 28) and 161 (July 7), respectively. Each hole is 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter.

This image was generated using the panoramic camera's 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters. It was taken on sol 173 (July 19).

meteorobs

“机遇”号在“耐力”陨石坑底（假彩色图片）。

False-Color View of a 'Rat' Hole Trail
7/27/04

meteorobs

“耐力”陨石坑附近耀眼的沙丘（真彩色）。

'Endurance Crater's' Dazzling Dunes
8/6/04
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity creeps farther into "Endurance Crater," the dune field on the crater floor appears even more dramatic. This approximate true-color panoramic camera image highlights the reddish-colored dust present throughout the scene.
Sinuous tendrils of sand less than 1 meter (3.3 feet) high extend from the main dune field toward the rover. Scientists hope to send the rover down to one of these tendrils in an effort to learn more about the characteristics of the dunes. Dunes are a common feature across the surface of Mars, and knowledge gleaned from investigating the Endurance dunes close-up may apply to similar dunes elsewhere.

Before the rover heads down to the dunes, rover drivers must first establish whether the slippery slope that leads to them is firm enough to ensure a successful drive back out of the crater. Otherwise, such hazards might make the dune field a true sand trap.

meteorobs

“耐力”陨石坑附近耀眼的沙丘（假彩色）。
'Endurance Crater's' Dazzling Dunes (false-color)
8/6/04
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity creeps farther into "Endurance Crater," the dune field on the crater floor appears even more dramatic. This false-color image taken by the rover's panoramic camera shows that the dune crests have accumulated more dust than the flanks of the dunes and the flat surfaces between them. Also evident is a "blue" tint on the flat surfaces as compared to the dune flanks. This results from the presence of the hematite-containing spherules ("blueberries") that accumulate on the flat surfaces.
Sinuous tendrils of sand less than 1 meter (3.3 feet) high extend from the main dune field toward the rover. Scientists hope to send the rover down to one of these tendrils in an effort to learn more about the characteristics of the dunes. Dunes are a common feature across the surface of Mars, and knowledge gleaned from investigating the Endurance dunes close-up may apply to similar dunes elsewhere.

Before the rover heads down to the dunes, rover drivers must first establish whether the slippery slope that leads to them is firm enough to ensure a successful drive back out of the crater. Otherwise, such hazards might make the dune field a true sand trap.

且听锋吟

真的是好！大饱眼福鸟！
顶！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

meteorobs

Relays from Mars Show International Interplanetary Networking
August 10, 2004


One of NASA's Mars rovers has sent pictures relayed by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter for the first time, demonstrating that the orbiter could serve as a communications link if needed.

The link-up was part of a set of interplanetary networking demonstrations paving the way for future Mars missions to rely on these networking capabilities. The American and European agencies planned them as part of continuing efforts to cooperate in space exploration.

On Aug. 4, as Mars Express flew over NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, the orbiter received data previously collected and stored by the rover. The data, including 15 images from the rover's nine cameras, were subsequently forwarded to the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany, and immediately relayed to the rover team based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Mars Express also is demonstrating two other networking modes with Opportunity and the twin rover, Spirit, between Aug. 3 and Aug. 13.

Two NASA orbiters, Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor, have relayed most data the rovers have produced since they landed in January. In addition, Mars Express demonstrated communication compatibility with the rovers in February, but at a low rate that did not convey much data. The Aug. 4 session, receiving 42.6 megabits from Opportunity in about 6 minutes, set a new mark for international networking at another planet.

The ability for a European mission and a NASA mission to communicate with each other at Mars required years of groundwork on Earth, said JPL engineer Peter Shames. Both Mars Express and the rovers use a communications protocol called Proximity-1. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, an international partnership for standardizing techniques used for handling space data, developed Proximity-1.

Mars Express was 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) above Mars' surface during the Aug. 4 session with Opportunity. In that session, the goal was reliable transfer of lots of data. The orbiter was about four times higher when it listened to Spirit on Aug. 3 and Aug. 6. Those sessions demonstrated a mode useful for catching fewer bits of a weaker signal during critical events, such as a landing or an approach to another craft for a rendezvous in orbit. The final session of the series, scheduled for Aug. 13 with Opportunity, will demonstrate a mode for gaining navigational information from the Doppler shift in the radio signal.

"Establishing a reliable communication network around Mars or other planets is crucial for future exploration missions," said Con McCarthy of the European Space Agency's Mars Express project. "This will allow ESA and NASA to more accurately track spacecraft during their approach, atmospheric entry and even descent, as well as to increase the coverage and the amount of data that can be brought back to Earth."

"We're delighted how well this has been working, and thankful to have Mars Express in orbit," said JPL's Richard Horttor, project manager for NASA's role in Mars Express.

JPL engineer Gary Noreen of the Mars Network Office said, "The capabilities that our international teamwork is advancing this month could be important in future exploration of Mars."

JPL's Dr. Mark Adler, Mars Exploration Rover mission manager, said, "A lot of the people who have worked on the Mars Exploration Rovers will be working on future Mars missions or have already switched to working on future missions, so we are very glad to see these capabilities demonstrated."

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Images and additional information about the rover project are available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://athena.cornell.edu.

Images and information about Mars Express are available at http://mars.esa.int.

Guy Webster (818) 354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

meteorobs

机遇号在陨石坑发现有流水冲刷痕迹的沉积岩

美国宇航局喷气推进实验室科学家约翰·格罗青格7日宣布，根据“机遇”号火星车最近在一处陨石坑内发现了这一红色星球上曾经有水的新证据。

　　格罗青格介绍说，近几个月内，“机遇”号一直在火星另一侧名为“持久”的陨石坑内进行探测。在这一足球场大小的陨石坑底部，“机遇”号发现了波浪状的沙丘和凹凸不平的块状圆岩石。这些岩石表面有细微的波状纹理，这是曾被流水冲刷的痕迹。

　　格罗青格认为，由于裂纹仅存在于岩石表层，可以推断水停留的时间并不漫长，很可能是融化的雪水或地下冰川。此外，正在“哥伦比亚山区”探测的“勇气”号也在“克洛维斯”基岩附近发现了一些被水磨蚀的新印记。

　　美国宇航局今年3月曾宣布，“机遇”号在火星登陆地点“子午线平原”上发现带波纹的沉积岩，表明那里曾经存在过水。一个月后，“勇气”号又发现证据，显示少量水曾渗入火山岩的矿石中。

　　“机遇”号造价2.8亿美元，其主要使命是寻找有关火星在远古时期是否存在过水的地质线索。它与“勇气”号同于今年1月成功登上火星。

　　稿源： 新华网 　　

'Escher' Rock
10/7/04
This false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock dubbed "Escher" on the southwestern slopes of "Endurance Crater." Scientists believe the rock's fractures, which divide the surface into polygons, may have been formed by one of several processes. They may have been caused by the impact that created Endurance Crater, or they might have arisen when water leftover from the rock's formation dried up. A third possibility is that much later, after the rock was formed, and after the crater was created, the rock became wet once again, then dried up and developed cracks. Opportunity has spent the last 14 sols investigating Escher and other similar rocks with its scientific instruments. This image was taken on sol 208 (Aug. 24, 2004) by the rover's panoramic camera, using the 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL

meteorobs

“机遇”号准备爬出陨石坑的路线。

Opportunity Escape Plan
10/7/04
This labeled image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the potential plan for Opportunity's exit from "Endurance Crater." Opportunity may attempt to leave Endurance via the route marked as the escape hatch, if scientists and engineers consider it safe after taking a closer look. Before leaving, however, scientists plan to investigate the rock to the right dubbed "Wopmay," measuring 1 meter (3.3 feet) across, as well as other rocks near "Burns Cliff." Scientists are interested in Wopmay because its unusual texture is unlike any others observed so far at Meridiani Planum. Once out of the crater, Opportunity may head to the heat shield, indicated on the left. This image was taken on the rover's 249th martian day, or sol (Sept. 14, 2004). This is an approximate true-color composite generated from the panoramic camera's 750-, 530-, and 430-nanometer filters.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

每米1982

太壮观了~
好象在上面也能呼吸~~

meteorobs

但因为气压太低，人类无法存活很长时间。。

每米1982

好想躺在上面，HOHO

meteorobs

那千万得先穿好宇航服。。

meteorobs

'埃尔哈特' 岩石

10/7/04
This false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock informally named "Earhart" on the lower slopes of "Endurance Crater." The rock was named after the pilot Amelia Earhart. Like "Escher" and other rocks dotting the bottom of Endurance, scientists believe fractures in Earhart could have been formed by one of several processes. They may have been caused by the impact that created Endurance Crater, or they might have arisen when water leftover from the rock's formation dried up. A third possibility is that much later, after the rock was formed, and after the crater was created, the rock became wet once again, then dried up and developed cracks. Rover team members do not have plans to investigate Earhart in detail because it is located across potentially hazardous sandy terrain. This image was taken on sol 219 (Sept. 4) by the rover's panoramic camera, using its 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

meteorobs

' Escher ' 岩石

'Escher' Rock
10/7/04
This false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock dubbed "Escher" on the southwestern slopes of "Endurance Crater." Scientists believe the rock's fractures, which divide the surface into polygons, may have been formed by one of several processes. They may have been caused by the impact that created Endurance Crater, or they might have arisen when water leftover from the rock's formation dried up. A third possibility is that much later, after the rock was formed, and after the crater was created, the rock became wet once again, then dried up and developed cracks. Opportunity has spent the last 14 sols investigating Escher, specifically the target dubbed "Kirchner," and other similar rocks with its scientific instruments. This image was taken on sol 208 (Aug. 24, 2004) by the rover's panoramic camera, using the 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters.