| Piú viste - Mars through the eyes of Soujourner-Pathfinder |
SOU-SOL024-PIA01547.jpgSunset on Mars from Pathfinder and...A Star-Like Object! - Sol 24 (True Colors; credits: NASA/JPL)427 visiteCaption NASA:"The brownish gray sky as it would be seen by an observer on Mars in this four-frame, True Color mosaic taken on sol 24 (at approximately 16:10 M.L.T.). The Twin Peaks can be seen on the horizon. The sky near the sun is a pale blue color. Azimuth extent is 60° and elevation extent is approximately 12°. A description of the techniques used to generate this color image from IMP data can be found in Maki et al., 1999.
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SOU-SOL006-backshell-03-PIA00790_modest.jpgThe "Backshell" - Sol 6299 visiteCaption NASA:"During the Entry, Descent and Landing phase of the mission, the final step is the separation of the Lander and it's surrounding Airbags from the Backshell. The conical Backshell above the Lander contains 3 solid rocketmotors each providing about a ton of force for over 2". They are activated by the computer in the Lander. Electrical wires that run up the bridle close relays in the Backshell which ignite the 3 rockets at the same instant. The brief firing of the solid rocketmotors at an altitude of 80-100 meters is intended to essentially bring the downward movement of the Lander to a halt some 12 meters above the Surface. The bridle separating the Lander and Heat-Shield is then cut in the Lander, resulting in the Backshell driving up and into the Parachute under the residual impulse of the rockets, while the Lander, encased in airbags, falls to the Surface. The Backshell is to the S/E of the Lander, and in front and to the left of "Big Crater".
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SOU-SOL001-80808_full.jpgColor Panorama: Sol 1232 visiteUn 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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SOU-SOL024-Sunset-PIA00920_modest~0.jpgSunset on Mars - Sol 24 (True Colors; credits: NASA/JPL)228 visiteCaption NASA:"This is a close-up of the Sunset on Sol 24 as seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. The red sky in the background and the blue around the Sun are approximately as they would appear to the human eye. The color of the Sun itself is not correct - the Sun was overexposed 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".
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SOU-SOL010-Twin_Peaks-TC-PIA01546_modest.jpgTwin Peaks - Sol 10 (True Colors; credits: NASA/JPL)216 visiteCaption NASA:"The True Colors of Mars based upon three filters with the sky set to aluminance of 60. The color of the Pathfinder Landing Site is yellowish brown with only subtle variations. These colors are identical to the measured colors of the Viking Landing Sites reported by Huck et al. [1977]. This image was taken near local noon (12:00 M.L.T.) on Sol 10. A description of the techniques used to generate this color image from IMP data can be found in Maki et al., 1999".
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SOU-SOL006-backshell-00.jpgThe "Silver-Sphere", near Pathfinder... - Sol 6188 visiteEd ecco un frame che abbiamo fatto davvero fatica a trovare, ma del quale conoscevamo l'esistenza: la Backshell della Sonda Pathfinder.
E' evidente che le fattezze di questo oggetto, tessitura superficiale e luminosità incluse, sono IDENTICHE a quelle dell'oggetto rinvenuto dal Rover Spirit a poca distanza dal Cratere Bonneville (leggete l'articolo pubblicato su TruePlanets per maggiori informazioni e dettagli).
Mistero risolto, dunque? La Silver Sphere di Spirit è solo la sua Backshell? Apparentemente si, ma è la NASA (si, proprio la NASA!) ad ESCLUDERE questa ipotesi, collocando la Backshell di Spirit (vedi la mappa allegata all'articolo summenzionato) in un punto completamente diverso rispetto al luogo in cui le immagini che abbiamo, invece, la collocherebbero (e cioè a poche decine di metri dal rim di Bonneville Crater).
E allora? E allora, come si è detto...Il Mistero si infittisce!
Caption NASA originale:"Super-Resolution image showing the Mars Pathfinder Backshell - This image was created from 25 nearly identical frames to give one HR view of the area looking towards Big Crater. The backshell is the bright white spot at middle-left. The 2,8 mt wide and 2,1 mt high Backshell, separated from the Lander a few seconds before landing, and appears to be about 1200 mt from the Lander, to the South-South-East".
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SOU-SOL016-Clouds-PIA00785.jpg"Cloudy Sky" on Mars - Sol 16182 visiteCaption NASA:"This is the first image ever taken from the Surface of Mars of an overcast sky. Featured are stratus clouds coming from the North/East at about 15 miles per hour (6,7 meters/second) at an approximate height of 10 miles (about 16 Km) above the Surface. The "you are here" notation marks where Earth was situated in the sky at the time the image was taken. Scientists had hoped to see Earth in this image, but the cloudy conditions prevented a clear viewing. Similar images will be taken in the future with the hope of capturing a view of Earth. From Mars, Earth would appear as a tiny blue dot as a star would appear to an Earthbound observer. Pathfinder's imaging system will not be able to resolve Earth's moon.
The clouds consist of water ice condensed on reddish dust particles suspended in the Atmosphere. Clouds on Mars are sometimes localized and can sometimes cover entire regions, but have not yet been observed to cover the entire Planet. The image was taken about an hour and forty minutes before sunrise by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 16 at about 10° up from the Eastern Martian Local Horizon".
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SOU-SOL033-Landscape-PIA01120.jpgMartian Landscape - Sol 33 (Enhanced True Colors; credits: NASA/JPL)181 visiteCaption NASA:"The Sojourner Rover deploys the Proton X-Ray Spectrometer" onto the rock named "Moe" within the "Rock Garden" in this 75- image, color-enhanced mosaic taken by the imager on the Lander. Image of the Rover in the "Rock Garden" was taken on a different day than the terrain image. The view is to the South/West, with the Carl Sagan Memorial Station in the foreground and South Twin Peak on the horizon about 1 km from the Lander".
[Image processed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA]
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SOU-SOL004-Deimos_from_Pathfinder-PIA00996_modest.jpgDeimos, from Pathfinder - Sol 4175 visiteCaption NASA originale: "Mars' outermost natural satellite, Deimos, is seen from the Planet's surface in this Pathfinder image taken at night on Sol 4. This picture was acquired by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) camera. Using IMP images of Deimos and its companion moon, Phobos, the spectral characteristics of the satellites and properties of the Martian atmosphere are determined".
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SOU-SOL016-PIA00784.jpgPre-Dawn Clouds on Mars - Sol 16 (True Colors; credits: NASA/JPL)174 visiteCaption NASA:"Pink Stratus Clouds are coming from the North/East at about 15 miles per hour (6,7 meters/second) at an approximate height of 10 miles (about 16 Km) above the Surface. The clouds consist of water ice condensed on reddish dust particles suspended in the Atmosphere. Clouds on Mars are sometimes localized and can sometimes cover entire Regions, but have not yet been observed to cover the entire Planet. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 16 about forty minutes before Sunrise showing areas of the Eastern Martian Local Horizon".
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SOU-SOL001-80816_full.jpgColor Panorama: Sol 1165 visiteLanding 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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SOU-SOL001-i1246750998img0008140027.jpgRocks around the Pathfinder - Sol 1164 visiteQuesta 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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