Sagan Memorial Station (Pathfinder)

This page contains some of the best images taken by Mars Pathfinder. A complete list can be found on the Pathfinder Images page. Additional information can also be found from the Mars Pathfinder Home Page. Viking Lander information and images can be found on the The Surface of Mars page.

Animations

- Sunset on Mars This movie off a Martian sunset is made from nine images of the twilight following sunset over Ares Vallis. The images are enhanced in order to show the very subtle features in the haze, which are probably caused by layers that are slightly dustier than the surrounding air. The color is not the true color of the sunset -- that is shown in other images. At the beginning, the Sun is on the horizon just to the right of the frame, and it sinks during the next hour. At the time of the last image the sky is only 1% as bright as at the beginning, but the IMP can easily adapt to the darkness and return these pictures. Because there is so much dust extending high into the martian sky, the sky stays bright for more than an hour after sunset.
- Sojourner Gets Her Rock This "movie" was generated from 23 separate frames taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) and lasts approximately 8 seconds. It shows Sojourner having backed away from Yogi readjusting itself by making two turns, one to the left and one to the right, before deploying the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and making its move up against the rock.
- Let's Do A Wheelie on Yogi!
- Off to Yogi!
- Sojourner Rover Rolls Down the Ramp At approximately 10:40 pm Pacific Daylight Time today, 5 July 1997, the Sojourner Rover drove off the rear lander ramp onto the Martian surface. The accompanying animation was assembled from 9 separate images taken by the IMP. The descent took approximately 2 minutes to complete. The rover now rests on the Martian soil, 10 cm from the end of the ramp.

Sagan Memorial Station Images

Barnacle Bill (JPEG)
This image shows the Sojurner Rover conducting its examination of "Barnacle Bill" with the APXS. The images was taken by the fully deployed (1.8 meters) IMP camera. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
Flat Top (JPEG)
In this image is the rectangular rock dubbed "Flat Top" by Pathfinder scientists. The surface of this rock appears to be covered by dust. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
Twin Peaks (JPEG)
The two hills in the distance, approximately one to two kilometers away, have been dubbed the "Twin Peaks" and are of great interest to Pathfinder scientists as objects of future study. The white areas on the left hill, called the "Ski Run" by scientists, may have been formed by hydraulic processes. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
Sojourner (JPEG)
Sojourner is visible in this image, one of the first taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The rover has moved from this position into one that later facilitated its using the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on Barnacle Bill. The APXS, located at the rear of the rover, is not visible in this image. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
Yogi Rock (JPEG)
Yogi, a rock taller than rover Sojourner, is the subject of this image, taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The soil in the foreground will be the location of multiple soil mechanics experiments performed by Sojourner's cleated wheels. Pathfinder scientists will be able to control the force inflicted on the soil beneath the rover's wheels, giving them insight into the soil's mechanical properties. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)
Couch Rock (JPEG)
This new view of the rock dubbed "Couch" was taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. Earlier images, taken by the undeployed IMP, hinted that Couch was balanced upon the rectangular rock approximately three-quarters of the way up from the bottom of the image. The deployed IMP, standing 1.8 meters above the Martian surface, has now revealed Couch to be a free-standing object positioned at the Martian horizon. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)

Mars

##### Author: Calvin J. Hamilton.