[酷图] “勇气”号开始在火星表面挖沟

PIA05337: Spirit Digs a Trench

新华网帕萨迪纳（美国）２月２１日电（记者颜亮）美国宇航局２１日说，“勇气”
号火星车当天在其第４８天火星之旅中，将机械臂伸到火星表面的一道浅沟里，寻找火星
上是否曾经有水存在的线索。

   宇航局喷气推进实验室的科学家说，“勇气”号前一天花费两个多小时，用一只带齿
的前轮挖出一道深约７．６
厘米的浅沟。２１日上午，“勇气”号先是用机械臂上的显微成像仪拍摄到了浅沟四壁和
底部的照片并传回地面。此后，“勇气”号将德国制造的莫斯鲍尔分光计伸向浅沟，探测
沟底土壤中的矿物质成分，这一过程将耗时１２个小时。

   根据地面控制人员设定的程序，从２２日清早开始，“勇气”号将把机械臂上的阿尔
法粒子Ｘ射线分光计送入沟底，继续寻找火星上是否曾经有水存在的痕迹。此后，“勇气
”号将开始又一次“长途旅行”，目的地是１３３米开外的“邦纳维尔”浅坑。


A view from the front hazard avoidance camera of NASA's Spirit rover on its 47th sol shows a trench excavated by the rover's left front wheel within the "Laguna Hollow" area. The trench, dubbed "Road Cut," is 7 centimeters (3 inches) deep. The soil at this location is more cohesive than the material where Spirit's twin, Opportunity, dug its first trench at Meridiani. Spirit made 11 back-and-forth passes to dig this trench, and still did not produce as deep a hole as Opportunity dug in 6 passes. Scientists and engineers plan to begin up-close inspection of the soil in this trench on sol 48 by placing the microscopic imager on the floor and the walls before conducting Moessbauer and alpha particle x-ray spectrometer readings on some of the same points.

PIA05339: Spirit Shadow over Laguna Trench

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit casts a shadow over the trench that the rover is examining with tools on its robotic arm. Spirit took this image with its front hazard-avoidance camera on Feb. 21, 2004, during the rover's 48th martian day, or sol. It dug the trench with its left front wheel the preceding sol. Plans call for Spirit to finish examining the trench on sol 50.

从此图可以看到“勇气”号火星车在火星表面的清晰投影！

PIA05455: The Answer is in the Crests and Troughs -2

This microscopic image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tops or crests of the waves of windblown soil that characterize the surface of Gusev Crater, Mars. The coarse grains on the crests, combined with the finer grains observed in a similar microscopic image taken of the waves' troughs, indicate that the waves are geologic features known as ripples, and not dunes. Dunes contain a more uniform distribution of material. This information helps scientists better understand the winds that shape the landscape of Mars. The image was taken on the 41st martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission by its microscopic imager. The observed area is 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across.

PIA05454: The Answer is in the Crests and Troughs

This microscopic image taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the troughs between the waves of windblown soil that characterize the surface of Gusev Crater, Mars. The fine-grained soil in the troughs, combined with the coarse grains observed in a similar microscopic image taken of the waves' crests, indicate that the waves are geologic features known as ripples, and not dunes. Dunes contain a more uniform distribution of material. This information helps scientists better understand the winds that shape the landscape of Mars. The image was taken on the 41st martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission by its microscopic imager. The observed area is 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) across.