Mars Pathfinder Color Images

Mars Pathfinder home page at NSSDCA

Color 3-D (red/blue) image - This image shows the area directly in front of the rover egress ramp and around Yogi.

Sojourner rolling over the Mermaid dune - Image taken on sol 30.

False color views of a martian sunset - These three images show a sunset on Mars, with false color to enhance details.

Martian sunset on sol 24

The Sojourner Rover at the end of sol 22 - An end-of-sol Sojourner image. This was taken on Sol 22 after the rover had placed its APXS in the dark soil surrounding the rock named Lamb.

False color image of the area surrounding Yogi - This image shows clear evidence of "scalloped" features in the soil associated with wind-blown dust. Such evidence indicates clearly the direction of prevailing winds in this area, and gives further proof of the aeolian nature of erosional processes on Mars.

Mars Pathfinder "Presidential Panorama" - a full-color panorama of the landing site from the Mars Pathfinder camera, this is a reduced version

The full Mars Pathfinder "Presidential Panorama (7.5 M) is also available.

A series of images taken during sunset - These images show the variation in cloud color as the sun sets. The images can be used to study the distribution of clouds and dust layers in the martian atmosphere.

Clearest image yet of Yogi - The Sojourner Rover is taking its Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer measurement. It clearly shows the "two-toned" surface of this large rock. The nature of this color difference is not known, however. It might consist of wind-blown dust accumulated on the surface (the rock is leaning into the prevailing wind) or might be evidence of a break from a larger boulder as it was deposited in the ancient flood that scoured this area.

Mars Pathfinder images 81991 and 81992 - These images, color stretched and enhanced by Dr. Timothy Parker, show where the airbags bounced and rolled on the surface, disturbing soil and revealing darker material underneath the immediate surface, displacing and compressing rocks into the soft surface.

Mars Pathfinder images 81696 and 81956 - Sample portions of the "Presidential Panorama". The image at left shows the Sojourner Rover at the rock Yogi, and the image at right shows part of the "rock garden".

Mars Pathfinder image of sunset - This highly color-enhanced and horizontally stretched image shows layering of dust in the martian atmosphere brought out by the martian sunset of Sol 11 at the Pathfinder landing site. The dust is distributed high in the martian atmosphere, causing the sky to remain light over an hour after sunset. The point of sunset is off the right side of the frame.
A movie of the sunset is also available

Mars Pathfinder image 81315 - A view from the Sojourner rover's rear color camera showing wheel tracks in the orange-red martian soil.

Mars Pathfinder image 81316 - Another color image from the Sojourner rover camera showing a close-up view of Yogi.

Mars Pathfinder image PR-3 - This image shows the Sojourner rover in its traveling configuration. The rover has since stood up and driven onto the surface of Mars. The red rectangle represents the location of the spectral analysis performed by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder.

Mars Pathfinder image 81126 - This is the incomplete "Monster Pan". The top and bottom of the image have not yet been added. A higher resolution JPEG version (350 K) is also available, but may not be viewable on many machines because of its size.

Mars Pathfinder image 81097 - Scooby-Doo and Casper, the light colored patches in the middle left of this image, are prime targets for the APXS. The disturbed soil in the lower right of this image was caused by the retraction of the airbags.

Mars Pathfinder image 81093 - Here we see Wedge and Flat Top imaged in color as part of the "monster panorama".

Mars Pathfinder image 81099 - The large rock to the upper right of the airbags in this image, appears to be riddled with many cracks.

Mars Pathfinder image 81096 - In the foreground are the airbags, and to the left are hypothesized evaporation deposits, salts or other materials left behind after ancient ponded water evaporated away.

Mars Pathfinder image 81094 - A color version of the image of the rover as it left the rear (or right) ramp.

Mars Pathfinder image 80816 - The first target of the Sojourner rover APXS, the rock nicknamed "Barnacle Bill", is shown here at top center. This image from the Mars Pathfinder IMP camera shows portions of the airbags, part of a petal, soil, and several rocks. The furrows in the soil were artificially produced by the retraction of the airbags after landing.

Close-up color view of "Barnacle Bill"

Mars Pathfinder image 80808 - Large boulders are visible in this enlargement of pictures taken by the Mars Pathfinder lander camera on July 4, 1997. The landing site is in the dry flood channel named Ares Valles. The boulders probably represent deposits from one of the catastrophic floods that carved the ancient channel. Between the rocks is brownish windblown soil. The gray-tan sky results from dust particles in the atmosphere.

Mars Pathfinder image 80809 - This closeup picture of the Mars Pathfinder lander shows the front of the small Sojourner rover, perched on a solar panel. The white material in front of the rover is a portion of the air bag system. Beyond the air bag is the rock-strewn Martian surface. A number of image processing artifacts are seen in this picture. Most apparent are seams between sub-frames offsetting portions of the rover's wheels and solar panel, color fringes that result from viewing the rover from the two separated eyes of the camera, and blocky fringes near edges and smooth areas that are created by data compression.

Mars Pathfinder image 80812 - In this image from the Pathfinder IMP camera, a diversity of rocks are strewn in the foreground. A hill is visible in the distance (the notch within the hill is an image artifact). Airbags are seen at the lower right.

Mars Pathfinder image 80815 - This image from the Mars Pathfinder IMP camera shows airbags in the foreground, a large rock in the mid-field, and a hill in the background.

Mars Pathfinder image 81015 - Portions of Sojourner's Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), a deployment spring, and the rock Barnacle Bill are visible in this color image. The image was taken by Sojourner's rear camera, and shows that the APXS made good contact with Barnacle Bill.

Caption information courtesy of Mars Pathfinder Project

Recent Mars Pathfinder Images

Black and White Mars Pathfinder Images

Historical Mars Pathfinder Images

Comparison of Mars Pathfinder and Viking B&W Panoramas

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