[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vista From 'Lookout' Point

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Apr 29 14:28:26 2005
Message-ID: <200504291827.j3TIRtL19037_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

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

Dolores Beasley (202) 358-1753
NASA Headquarters, Washington

Image Advisory: 2005-066 April 29, 2005

Mars Rover Panorama Shows Vista From 'Lookout' Point

>From a ridgeline vantage point overlooking slopes, valleys
and plains, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned
its latest color panorama of the martian landscape.

Spirit's "Lookout" panorama is available online at
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html
and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov .

The approximately true color image shows a full 360-degree
view from a site informally named "Larry's Lookout," about
halfway up "Husband Hill."

Dr. Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead
scientist for the panoramic cameras on both the Spirit and
Opportunity Mars rovers, said, "Spirit and the rover team
worked hard over many weeks to get to this vantage point
along the flanks of Husband Hill. The rugged ridge and
valley terrain seen here is similar in some respects to the
view seen months earlier at the 'West Spur,' but the
chemistry and mineralogy here are significantly different.
Specifically, some of the areas seen here amid the outcrop
rocks and in places where the subsurface was exposed by the
rover wheels contain the highest sulfur abundances ever
measured by Spirit."

The view includes the summit of Husband Hill about 200 meters
(about 660 feet) southward and about 45 meters (about 150
feet) higher. As Spirit continues uphill, scientists are
looking for evidence about whether the intensity of water-
related alteration increases with elevation or whether there
are pockets of more heavily altered rocks and soils scattered
throughout the hills.

Spirit's panoramic camera took more than 300 individual
frames between Feb. 27 and March 2 that are combined into the
big picture. Downloading the frames to Earth took several
weeks, and processing took additional time. Imaging
specialists at Cornell and at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., calibrated the color and
assembled the image.

Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, successfully completed
three-month primary missions a year ago. In extended
missions since then, they have been exploring at increasing
distances from their landing sites.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

                           - end -
Received on Fri 29 Apr 2005 02:27:54 PM PDT