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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Yesterday saw the release of one of the most remarkable mars images I
have ever seen (and I've looked at a lot of them). Unfortunately, with the media focus on the problems with Spirit this image has been largely overlooked. It's also not in color, something the media has a strong bias against (unless the image is from a famous photographer who works in B&W). I played a small part in the development of what is now known as the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. This camera has the ability to take very high resolution grayscale images of the surface of mars in long narrow swaths. Last Monday, the MOC team was able to take an image of the Spirit landing site. To put things in perspective, a similar attempt was made to capture Pathfinder. The result, after months of work, was a single bright pixel that may or may not have represented the lander. In an odd coincidence, that same day my 5-year-old and I were looking at an orbiter image of the landing site wondering if Spirit would come across the parachute or heatshield as she explored her new world. The image obtained on Monday was stunning: not only did it clearly show the lander but it has a discernible shape at high magnification! And to the northwest lies the backshell and parachute, clear as day, still attached to each other where they fell after safely dropping the lander from a height of just 23 feet. To the northeast is the heatshield, where it impacted on the edge of the large nearby crater. All of this from a distance of over 400km! Such detail was unexpected, even to those of us who know the camera well. There is so much detail in this image that I have been able to match some of the nearby features, seen in the Spirit images. Absolutely astounding! The un-annotated image is he http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/jan-23-2004/captions/image-13.html The annotated version can be found he http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/jan-23-2004/captions/image-12.html I'm optimistic that Spirit will be brought back to work. One of the things that was missed by the press is that they formed an anomaly team that didn't even get started until last night at midnight PST. The saturday press conference will occur at the end of their shift. Hopefully they will have at least better quantified the problem. Clear skies, Greg -- Greg Crinklaw Astronomical Software Developer Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m) SkyTools Software for the Observer: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html Skyhound Observing Pages: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html |
#2
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:
Agreed, the images are fantastic. Do you know what the little squqre represents - it's labled DIMES "First Bounce" estimate. Yeah -- I didn't even mention the bounce marks. Bounce marks! Oh my! I would have laughed at anyone who suggested the bounce marks could be imaged. The square represents the estimate of the location of the lander when it first struck the surface from the IMU inside the lander. Although the square isn't exactly at the place of first bounce, it is remarkably close given the uncertainties in the device and in our knowledge of martian geography. Clear skies, Greg -- Greg Crinklaw Astronomical Software Developer Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m) SkyTools Software for the Observer: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html Skyhound Observing Pages: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html |
#3
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:
Agreed, the images are fantastic. Do you know what the little squqre represents - it's labled DIMES "First Bounce" estimate. Yeah -- I didn't even mention the bounce marks. Bounce marks! Oh my! I would have laughed at anyone who suggested the bounce marks could be imaged. The square represents the estimate of the location of the lander when it first struck the surface from the IMU inside the lander. Although the square isn't exactly at the place of first bounce, it is remarkably close given the uncertainties in the device and in our knowledge of martian geography. Clear skies, Greg -- Greg Crinklaw Astronomical Software Developer Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m) SkyTools Software for the Observer: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html Skyhound Observing Pages: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html |
#4
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:
Agreed, the images are fantastic. Do you know what the little squqre represents - it's labled DIMES "First Bounce" estimate. Yeah -- I didn't even mention the bounce marks. Bounce marks! Oh my! I would have laughed at anyone who suggested the bounce marks could be imaged. The square represents the estimate of the location of the lander when it first struck the surface from the IMU inside the lander. Although the square isn't exactly at the place of first bounce, it is remarkably close given the uncertainties in the device and in our knowledge of martian geography. Clear skies, Greg -- Greg Crinklaw Astronomical Software Developer Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m) SkyTools Software for the Observer: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html Skyhound Observing Pages: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html |
#5
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Greg,
What a spectacular image and eloquent testimony to the resolution of the MOC! Love the bounce marks. So sad--and so typical--that the media has missed this amazing image. Thanks so much for posting the links. Clear skies, John Harrington |
#6
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Greg,
What a spectacular image and eloquent testimony to the resolution of the MOC! Love the bounce marks. So sad--and so typical--that the media has missed this amazing image. Thanks so much for posting the links. Clear skies, John Harrington |
#7
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Greg,
What a spectacular image and eloquent testimony to the resolution of the MOC! Love the bounce marks. So sad--and so typical--that the media has missed this amazing image. Thanks so much for posting the links. Clear skies, John Harrington |
#8
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Could it be deduced from the final position of the parachute in relation to the line of the bounce marks that it was a windy day on Mars? |
#9
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Could it be deduced from the final position of the parachute in relation to the line of the bounce marks that it was a windy day on Mars? |
#10
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Spirit: an unfortunate side effect
Could it be deduced from the final position of the parachute in relation to the line of the bounce marks that it was a windy day on Mars? |
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