Image of the Day

Wandering Spirit

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted fellow Martian explorer, the Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit," inside the feature dubbed "Home Plate" in Gusev Crater.

 

The intrepid, long-lived rover shows up as a tiny black speck at about the 5:30 position of the lighter-colored, roughly circular central feature of this image, taken on Sept. 27, 2007.

 

Spirit is driving toward what is hoped will be a safe winter home on the north-facing slopes on the north side of Home Plate, toward the top of the image. There it will tilt its solar panels toward the sun for the long Martian winter. There is a concern that Spirit is approaching its third Martian winter with more dust on its solar panels than it had during its first two winters, lessening its ability to generate power and remain operational.

 

Home Plate is a flat, raised feature probably representing a remnant of a deposit from an ancient eruption.

 

The new color image of Home Plate was created from a distance of 168 miles (270 kilometers) over the surface. At that distance, the camera could resolve objects about 32 inches (81 centimeters) across. The sun stood about 56 degrees above the horizon in the winter afternoon sky.

 

• Mars Rover      Landing Video Animation
• Get to Know      MRO: Top 10 Facts About NASA's Mars
• Mars Rover Special Report

 

-- Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona and SPACE.com Staff

 

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

 

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