Mars through the eyes of Soujourner-Pathfinder |
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Color Panorama: Sol 1193 visteUn nuovo "album" per una "vecchia" Missione: il mini-rover Soujourner, la Sonda Patrhfinder (lett.: cerca-percorso) e le loro "visioni", ora a colori (spesso brutti) ed ora in b/n (decisamente molto meglio), di Marte.
Era il 4 Luglio (ma guarda che combinazione...) 1997 quando le prime immagini del Pianeta Rosso (Ares Vallis) incominciarono ad arrivare e si trattò di frames storici poichè, come la NASA stessa ci rammenta "...these images represent Humankind's return to the Red Planet. More than 20 years after the Viking I and II Missions, Pathfinder has landed on Mars!").
Nota: le immagini da guardare e commentare coprono solo 95 Soles: 30 relativi alla "Prime Mission" - e cioè sino al 3 Agosto 1997 - ed il resto per la "Extended mission" - vale a dire sino al 9 Ottobre 1997).
Una Missione breve? Forse si e forse no.
Una Missione interessante? Giudicatelo Voi!...
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Color Panorama: Sol 198 visteView of martian surface taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP), the camera on board the Mars Pathfinder lander. This image was taken in mid-morning on Mars (2:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, July 4, 1997). Part of the small rover, Sojourner, is visible on the left side of the picture. The tan cylinder to the right of the rover is one of two rolled-up ramps by which the rover will descend to the ground. The white, billowy material in the center of the picture is part of the airbag system. Many rocks of different shapes and sizes are visible between the lander and the horizon. Two hills are visible on the horizon. The notch on the left side of the leftmost conical hill is an artifact of the processing of this picture.
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Color Panorama: Sol 191 vistePathfinder enters the upper atmosphere of Mars at 10:02 PDT and at a velocity of approx. 26.500 Km/hour and begins the sequence of events that will land the Spacecraft on the surface. From this point on, the only likely signal from the Spacecraft will be the carrier wave, a single frequency radio wave. The shifting frequency of the carrier, know as the "Doppler shift", will provide an indication of the decelerations occurring during entry and parachute deployment. The Spacecraft is also designed to send back a frequency-keyed signal following certain key events (this signal is called a "semaphore"). The semaphore is very weak and is not expected to be received in real time. However, careful analysis after-the-fact of the broad frequency spectrum recording of the radio signal will give the Operations Team considerable information on how events unfolded during the rapid descent to the surface.
Entry, descent and landing (EDL) takes approximately 4,5' and follows the sequence below:
Spacecraft rapidly decelerates in the atmosphere using the heatshield
Parachute deploys
Heat shield separates
Lander releases from backshell, descends on bridle
Radar altimeter returns information on altitude
Airbags inflate
Rocket-assisted deceleration (RAD) engines fire
Bridle cable is cut
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Color Panorama: Sol 1101 visteOriginal caption:"This picture from Mars Pathfinder was taken at 9:30 AM in the martian morning or MLT (such as 14:30 PDT --> Pacific Daylight Time), after the Spacecraft landed on July 4, 1997. The picture shows the Sojourner Rover perched on 1 of 3 solar panels. The (mini)Rover is 65 cm (about 26") long by 18 cm (7") tall; each of its wheels is about 13 cm (5") high. The white material to the left of the front of the Rover is part of the airbag system used to cushion the landing.
Many rocks of different of different sizes can be seen in a background of reddish soil. The landing site is in the mouth of an ancient channel carved by water. The rocks may be primarily flood debris. The horizon is seen towards the top of the picture. The light brown hue of the sky results from suspended dust".
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Color Panorama: Sol 1125 visteLanding on surface of Mars in Ares Vallis. Transmitter turned off shortly after landing to save power. After touchdown, the following sequence occurs: 1) Lander bounces and rolls to a stop 2) Airbags deflate and are retracted up against the petals 3) Petals open.
These events of the entry, descent and landing phase are complete between 11:32 a.m. and 12:33 p.m. PDT. A semaphore signaling the end of this phase is received via the Lander's Low-Gain Antenna.
At 2 p.m. PDT Sunrise at the Landing Site occurs. Operations begin for Sol 1 (note: Sol is a Mars day, --> such as 24 h and about 40').
The transmitter is turned on and the Spacecraft signals Earth through the Low-Gain Antenna. This communications session will contain telemetry from all engineering subsystems including the Rover and the first science data about the atmosphere taken during descent. Carrier is received at 1:55 p.m. PDT; following ground processing, actual first information are received by flight controllers at approx. 2:09 p.m. PDT.
Original caption:"In this image from the Pathfinder IMP camera, a wide diversity of rocks are strewn in the foreground. A (small) hill is visible in the distance (note: the notch within the hill is an image artifact). Airbags are seen at the lower right".
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Rocks around the Pathfinder - Sol 1130 visteQuesta immagine in b/n che "chiude" la Panoramica Ufficiale dei frames Pathfinder a colori ricevuti sulla Terra durante il Sol 1 (4 Luglio 1997) rappresenta un campione davvero esemplare per quella categoria di immagini che noi chiamiamo "indecifrabili".
La qualità del frame, come vedete, è pessima e, anche operando un ingrandimento davvero modesto, il risultato (l'unico) che si ottiene è quello di rendere l'immagine totalmente inguardabile. Difficile stimare, anche qualora ci volessimo accontentare di un'ampia approssimazione, la distanza e le dimensioni degli oggetti ripresi.
Un'immagine che non fornisce risposte, anzi...Stimola migliaia di domande e fa sorgere enormi dubbi (ma - non fraintendeteci - NON sulla effettività della Missione, poichè sappiamo che questo frame proviene da Marte). Dubbi che, nel tempo, da piccole crepe nelle pareti della coerenza e della fiducia nella trasparenza dei dati raccolti durante le Missioni Spaziali, diventano voragini (sovente) irreparabili.
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Mars Panorama: photomosaic - Sol 1115 visteGiunzioni fatte male, parte del frame predisposto per la visione anaglifica (3D) - alla Vostra Sx - ed incredibili errori nel montaggio dei diversi pezzi dell'immagine complessiva: fretta o totale incompetenza? Sia nell'uno che nell'altro caso, la NASA - in situazioni come questa - è inescusabile!
Caption originale:"The Sojourner rover and undeployed ramps onboard the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft can be seen in this image, by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 4 (Sol 1). This image has been corrected for the curvature created by parallax. The microrover Sojourner is latched to the petal, and has not yet been deployed. The ramps are a pair of deployable metal reels which will provide a track for the rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, over the spacecraft's deflated airbags, and onto the surface of Mars. Pathfinder scientists will use this image to determine whether it is safe to deploy the ramps. One or both of the ramps will be unfurled, and then scientists will decide whether the rover will use either the forward or backward ramp for its descent".
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Big Rock - Sol 1101 visteOriginal caption:"This image of the Martian surface was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) before sunset on July 4 (Sol 1), the spacecraft's first day on Mars. The airbags have been partially retracted, and portions of the petal holding the undeployed rover Sojourner can be seen at lower left. The rock in the center of the image may be a future target for chemical analysis.
The soil in the foreground has been disturbed by the movement of the airbags as they retracted".
Nota: questa immagine, come le due che seguono, è relativa al Sol 1 ma è stata ricevuta sulla Terra durante il Sol 2.
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Ares Vallis' Horizon and Pathfinder - Sol 2111 visteOriginal caption:"Taken on July 5, this image shows portions of the high gain antenna, a petal and the retracted airbags. Geologists are eager to examine the rocks of the Ares Vallis terrain. As predicted, the landing site has provided a grab bag of diverse rock types and sizes".
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Details and Features of the Pathfinder - Sol 185 visteOriginal caption:"Several prominent features of Mars Pathfinder and surrounding terrain are seen in this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder on July 4 (Sol 1), the spacecraft's first day on the Red Planet. Portions of a lander petal are at the lower part of the image. At the left, the mechanism for the high-gain antenna can be seen. The dark area along the right side of the image represents a portion of the low-gain antenna. The radiation calibration target is at the right. The calibration target is made up of a number of materials with well-characterized colors. The known colors of the calibration targets allow scientists to determine the true colors of the rocks and soils of Mars. Three bull's-eye rings provide a wide range of brightness for the camera, similar to a photographer's grayscale chart. In the middle of the bull's-eye is a 5-inch tall post that casts a shadow, which is distorted in this image due to its location with respect to the lander camera. A large rock is located at the near center of the image. Smaller rocks and areas of soil are strewn across the Martian terrain up to the horizon line".
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Huge rocks around Pathfinder - Sol 2119 visteOriginal caption:"This image was taken on July 5 by the IMP camera. The flat, table-like rock appears to be covered with dust and it also displays many interesting linear features.
The large rocks in the background are intriguing because of their impressive textures".
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Panorama with Twin Peaks - Sol 375 visteOriginal caption:"Named Twin Peaks, the formation of two hills in the background are of extreme geological interest. The left hill has a smooth apron which may have been caused by gravitational processes or water. The hill on the right seems to have horizontal bands running through it. As of yet unidentified, the bands may be deposits, sedimentary layers, or terraces cut by erosion.
The Twin Peaks in the distance are approximately 1,6 Km from the Sagan Memorial Station. The rocks in the foreground are very diverse. Some are rounded and suggest transport by water, others are tabular and angular and indicate non-aqueous deposition. Preliminary hypotheses are that the angular rocks were thrown from ancient, nearby impact crater sites".
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