[meteorite-list] Images from Mars on CNN!
From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:57 2004 Message-ID: <200401041043.CAA22648_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> The images were being shown live on NASA TV, and some of the news agencies were picking up the images from that. Here's one example: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/images/firstimage5_full.jpg Only thumbnail images have been transmitted back thus far, and the full-resolution images are still forthcoming. Nevertheless, the thumbails have been combined into mosaics like the one in the above image. What's been accomplished so far has exceeded everyone's expectations. All we really wanted on the first day was to safely land. That's been achieved, and since the lander landed base-petal down, we were able to get a headstart with the communications. The bandwith relay through through Mars Global Surveyor was better than expected, so more data was transmitted back, including the first surface images and the descent images. The navigation team has already pinpointed the rover's position on Mars to within a few kilometers. The mission is off to an excellent start. Tomorrow, health checks on all the instruments will start, and more images will be sent back. The terrain looks very flat in all directions around the rover, and the tilt angle on the rover is only 2 degrees. It looks to have landed in a dry lakebed, much to the delight of the scientists. There are lots of rocks around, but not too big, and not to closely grouped together, which should make it easy for the rover to navigate around and traverse long distances when it is ready to roll. Ron Baalke Received on Sun 04 Jan 2004 05:43:50 AM PST |
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