[meteorite-list] Mars Hand Lens Imager Sends Ultra High-Res Photo From Mars (Curiosity Rover)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2013 10:36:29 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201310081736.r98HaT0Q020646_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE

FROM:
Alan Fischer
Public Information Officer
Planetary Science Institute
520-382-0411
520-622-6300
fischer at psi.edu

Mars Hand Lens Imager Sends Ultra High-Res Photo From Mars

Oct. 8, 2013, Tucson, Ariz. -- An instrument aboard NASA's Curiosity rover
has sent back to scientists on Earth an ultra high-resolution image of a
penny the rover carried to Mars.

The coin was photographed by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard
Curiosity in northern Gale crater on Mars. The penny, a 1909 VDB penny
minted in Philadelphia during the first year that Lincoln cents became
available, is part of the MAHLI calibration target and came from Earth. The
images were acquired on Oct. 2, on sol 411 - the 411th Martian day - of the
mission.

"I'm so proud of how beautifully this camera has performed on Mars," said
R. Aileen Yingst, Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist and deputy
Principal Investigator for MAHLI. "I can't wait to apply this newly
available capability to real geologic targets on our way to Mt. Sharp."
At 13.9 micrometers per pixel, this is the highest resolution image that
the MAHLI can acquire, Yingst said. This image was obtained as part of a
test; it was the first time that the rover's robotic arm placed the MAHLI
close enough to a target to obtain MAHLI's highest-possible resolution. The
previous highest-resolution MAHLI images, which were pictures of Martian
rocks, were at 16-17 micrometers per pixel. A micrometer, also known as a
micron, is about 0.000039 inches.

Visit http://www.psi.edu/news/MAHLIimage.html to see the penny photographed
on Mars.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project provided funding for MAHLI.

The gold medal for highest resolution photographs on Mars goes to NASA's
Phoenix Mars Lander's optical microscope. As a microscope, though,
fine-grained samples had to be delivered to it, whereas MAHLI can be
deployed to look at geologic materials in their natural setting.

CONTACT:
R. Aileen Yingst
Senior Scientist
920-360-3627
yingst at psi.edu

PSI INFORMATION:
Mark V. Sykes
Director
520-622-6300
sykes at psi.edu

PSI HOMEPAGE:
http://www.psi.edu

PSI PRESS RELEASES:
http://www.psi.edu/news/press-releases

THE PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE:

The Planetary Science Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3)
corporation dedicated to solar system exploration. It is headquartered in
Tucson, Arizona, where it was founded in 1972.

PSI scientists are involved in numerous NASA and international missions,
the study of Mars and other planets, the Moon, asteroids, comets,
interplanetary dust, impact physics, the origin of the solar system,
extra-solar planet formation, dynamics, the rise of life, and other areas
of research. They conduct fieldwork in North America, Australia and Africa.
They also are actively involved in science education and public outreach
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PSI scientists are based in 20 states and the District of Columbia,
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Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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Received on Tue 08 Oct 2013 01:36:29 PM PDT