Mars Pathfinder Images

Mars Pathfinder home page at NSSDCA

Super resolution view of big crater and the area around Pathfinder

Section of the lander Super-Pan from mid-morning of sol 13 - At each camera frame position, a Super-Pan image contains fifteen frames---six frames for three-color stereo and nine more individual narrow color bands. Red, green, and blue filter images from the right eye were combined to simulate slightly amplified natural color. The rocks Squid, Ender, Hassock, and a portion of Wedge are visible in the center-right portion of the mosaic. Mermaid Dune and Bosco rock are visible in the middle-left. The foreground contains portions of the airbags and the top of the low-gain antenna on the lander. The rim of the impact crater "Big Crater" is visible in the upper-left on the horizon. The processing of this mosaic was done by the United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Left and right stereo images of rock "Half Dome" - This stereo image pair was taken by the Sojourner rover's front cameras on Sol 71 (September 14). Pits, linear textures, and pronounced topography on the rock are clearly visible.

Left and right stereo images of rock "Moe" - This stereo image close-up was taken from the Sojourner rover's front cameras on 70 (September 13). Flute-like textures on the rock, possibly caused by wind abrasion, are clearly visible.

Rover and APXS deployed on "Moe" - This color image shows the Sojourner rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) deployed against the rock "Moe" on the morning of Sol 65. The rock behind the rover is "Half Dome", which was previously measured by the APXS.

Left and right stereo views of Sojourner and "Moe" - The Sojourner rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is shown deployed against the rock "Moe" on the afternoon of Sol 64 (September 7). The rocks to the left of Moe are "Shark" (left of Sojourner) and "Half Dome" (behind Sojourner). They were previously measured by the APXS. An image showing all previous APXS deployments is also available.

Stereo images of the Solourner Rover - These images taken on Sol 47 shows the Sojourner rover with its left rear wheel perched on the rock "Wedge." The rover's Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer is the cylindrical object extending from the back of the rover.

Martian sunset on sol 24 and a close-up of the sunset - The image on the left shows much more color variation than had previously been seen. The blue color near the Sun is not caused by clouds of water ice, but by the Martian dust itself. The dust in the atmosphere absorbs blue light, giving the sky its red color, but it also scatters some of the blue light into the area just around the Sun because of its size. The blue color only becomes apparent near sunrise and sunset, when the light has to pass through the largest amount of dust. The close up on the right shows the red sky in the background and the blue around the Sun approximately as they would appear to the human eye. The color of the Sun itself is not right -- the Sun was over exposed in each of the 3 color images that were used to make this picture. The true color of the Sun itself may be near white or slightly bluish.

Wispy blue clouds in the pre-dawn sky on sol 39 - This Imager for Mars Pathfinder color view was made by taking blue, green, and red images and then combining them into a single color image. The clouds appear to have a bluish side and a greenish side because they moved (in the wind from the northeast) between images. This picture was made an hour and twenty minutes before sunrise -- the sun is not shining directly on the water ice clouds, but they are illuminated by the dawn twilight.

Mars Pathfinder lander image of clouds on sol 15 - As water ice clouds cover the sky, the sky takes on a more bluish cast. This is because small particles (perhaps a tenth the size of the Martian dust, or one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair) are bright in blue light, but almost invisible in red light. Thus, scientists expect that the ice particles in the clouds are very small.

True color image of pre-dawn clouds in the eastern sky - The view is 30 degrees above the horizon at 05:13 local solar time on Sol 39. The bright streaks are probably ice clouds which have formed during the night. In the true color image, the clouds appear to be blue compared to the background. This is a real effect. The clouds are also moving. In order to create this image, the individual, single color, data frames have had to be shifted with respect to each other. The motion indicates that the clouds are moving from the north-east to the south-west.

Mars Pathfinder lander on sol 39 - This image was taken by the rover's left front camera. Deflated air bags are visible at the base of the spacecraft. The American flag and the letters "JPL" are seen on Pathfinder's white electronics housing. The mast for the Pathfinder camera extends upward from the top of the housing. The front rover ramp is perched on top of the air bags and is several feet above the ground. Because of this precarious position, Sojourner used the rear ramp to reach the surface on Sol 2. The large rock visible behind the air bags is "Yogi."

Lander image of the rock "Wedge" - The Sojourner rover is next to the rock "Wedge" in this image taken on Sol 35. From this position, the rover took an image of Wedge from its rear color camera (see sol35r.gif). The cylindrical instrument protruding from the rear of Sojourner is the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), an instrument that measures the chemical composition of rocks and soils. The APXS was successfully deployed against Wedge on the night of Sol 37

Rover image of the rock "Wedge" - Taken by the Rover on sol 35, this closeup of Wedge reveals a rough texture. consisting of small protrusions and pits. The rocks in the background comprise the "Rock Garden",where Sojourner visited after investigating Wedge. (the position of the rover relative to Wedge is seen in the image above).

Movie showing Sojourner deploying the APXS instrument on sol 14 (1.1 M)

Caption information courtesy of Mars Pathfinder Project

More Color Mars Pathfinder Images

More Black and White Mars Pathfinder Images

Historical Mars Pathfinder Images

Mars Pathfinder Panorama with names of features and rocks (700 K)
Comparison of Mars Pathfinder and Viking B&W Panoramas
Images of the Mars Pathfinder landing site in Ares Vallis
Mars Pathfinder Project Image Site

Mars Pathfinder home page at NSSDCA

NASA Official: Dave Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 30 December 2004, DRW