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Dunes-PIA04290-PCF-LXTT.jpgSouthern Dunefield (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteCaption NASA:"Wider context for this Dunefield is shown here in a mosaic of two images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter, encompassing the dark-toned Sand Dunefield on the floor of an Unnamed Impact Crater located near 49,8° South Latitude and 325,4° West Longitude.
In this image, North is approximately up and Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left". MareKromium
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OPP-SOL2572-1P356518029EFFB4X2P2401L2M1-PCF-LXTT.jpgEndeavour's Rim - Sol 2572 (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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Channels-Elator_Vallis-PIA14148-PCF-LXTT.jpgElator Vallis (Enhanced Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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OPP-SOL2594-1P358473693EFFB8FTP2417R2M1-PCF-LXTT.jpgLight Outcrop - Sol 2594 (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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SOL2174-2F319371241EFFB27MP1214R0M1-PCF-LXTT.jpgBye-Bye Spirit! - SOl 2174 (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteMay 25, 2011
NASA Spirit Rover Completes Mission on Mars
NASA has ended operational planning activities for the Mars rover Spirit and transitioned the Mars Exploration Rover Project to a single-rover operation focused on Spirit's still-active twin, Opportunity.
This marks the completion of one of the most successful missions of interplanetary exploration ever launched.
Spirit last communicated on March 22, 2010, as Martian winter approached and the rover's solar-energy supply declined. The rover operated for more than six years after landing in January 2004 for what was planned as a three-month mission. NASA checked frequently in recent months for possible reawakening of Spirit as solar energy available to the rover increased during Martian spring. A series of additional re-contact attempts ended today, designed for various possible combinations of recoverable conditions.
"Our job was to wear these rovers out exploring, to leave no unutilized capability on the surface of Mars, and for Spirit, we have done that" said Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Spirit drove 4,8 miles (7,73 Km), more than 12 times the goal set for the mission. The drives crossed a plain to reach a distant range of hills that appeared as mere bumps on the horizon from the Landing Site; climbed slopes up to 30° as Spirit became the first robot to summit a hill on another planet; and covered more than half a mile (nearly a kilometer) after Spirit's right-front wheel became immobile in 2006. The rover returned more than 124.000 images. It ground the surfaces off 15 rock targets and scoured 92 targets with a brush to prepare the targets for inspection with Spectrometers and a Microscopic Imager.
"What's really important is not only how long Spirit worked or how far Spirit drove, but also how much exploration and scientific discovery Spirit accomplished" Callas said.
One major finding came, ironically, from dragging the inoperable right-front wheel as the rover was driving backwards in 2007. That wheel plowed up bright white soil. Spirit's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer and Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer revealed that the bright material was nearly pure silica.
"Spirit's unexpected discovery of concentrated silica deposits was one of the most important findings by either rover" said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for Spirit and Opportunity. "It showed that there were once hot springs or steam vents at the Spirit site, which could have provided favorable conditions for microbial life".
The silica-rich soil neighbors a low plateau called Home Plate, which was Spirit's main destination after the historic climb up Husband Hill. "What Spirit showed us at Home Plate was that early Mars could be a violent place, with water and hot rock interacting to make what must have been spectacular volcanic explosions. It was a dramatically different world than the cold, dry Mars of today" said Squyres.
The trove of data from Spirit could still yield future science revelations. Years of analysis of some 2005 observations by the rover's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer and Moessbauer Spectrometer produced a report last year that an outcrop on Husband Hill bears a high concentration of carbonate. This is evidence of a wet, non-acidic ancient environment that may have been favorable for microbial life.
"What's most remarkable to me about Spirit's mission is just how extensive her accomplishments became," said Squyres. "What we initially conceived as a fairly simple geologic experiment on Mars ultimately turned into Humanity's first real overland expedition across another planet. Spirit explored just as we would have, seeing a distant hill, climbing it, and showing us the vista from the summit. And she did it in a way that allowed everyone on Earth to be part of the adventure".MareKromium
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Craters-Lau_Crater-M07_4748_4749-PCF-LXTT-01.jpgBizarre-looking "Dark Spot" near Lau Crater (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteLa chiazza scura e senza nome che la NASA stessa definisce di "natura sconosciuta" potrebbe essere l'evidenza, secondo alcuni Ricercatori Americani ed Europei, di una minuscola area di Marte con "vegetazione". Si, avete letto bene: vegetazione, di un qualche tipo. In un'altra immagine della stessa zona, la macchia scura appare di colore verdastro e non nero. E' del tutto evidente che i sostenitori dell'idea che si tratti di vegetazione (si, ma che tipo?) ritengono che l'immagine NASA sia manipolata, mentre la NASA sostiene che i colori che vedete sono "almost real" e quindi la macchia scura, comunque, non è (nè potrebbe comunque essere) vegetazione.
Questi sono i dati e le informazioni disponibili: come vedete, c'è materiale su cui riflettere...MareKromium
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S-433-Eros-Rocky_Outcrop-00.jpgTwilights on a "VERY (in)FAMOUS" Rocky Outcrop...203 visiteQualche nuova (si fa solo per dire...) immagine relativa al bellissimo (e "Famoso") Affioramento Roccioso (---> Rocky Outcrop) sul quale è stata costruita una delle più grosse e pacchiane "Bufale Spaziali" degli ultimi trent'anni. Le immagini sono effettivamente splendide e difficilmente fraintendibili (salva la sussistenza di traveggole e/o di difetti gravi/gravissimi della vista).MareKromium
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Volcanoes-Olympus-Viking-MGS.gifAs Time Goes By... (a GIF-Movie by Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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PSP_007338_2640_RED_abrowse.jpgFeatures of the North Polar Scarp (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteMars Local Time: 13:05 (Early Afternoon)
Coord. (centered): 83,7° North Lat. and 235,8° East Long.
Spacecraft altitude: 318,1 Km (such as about 198,8 miles)
Original image scale range: 31,8 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~ 95 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale: 25 cm/pixel
Map projection: POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission Angle: 0,2°
Sun-Mars-Spacecraft (or "Phase") Angle: 70,1°
Solar Incidence Angle: 70° (meaning that the Sun is about 20° above the Local Horizon)
Solar Longitude: 34,0° (Northern Spring)
Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Additional process. and coloring: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer ItaliaMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Volcanic_Regions-PIA10942-PCF-LXTT.jpgMercurian Volcano (Enhanced Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteAs reported in the July 4th, 2008 issue of Science Magazine, Volcanoes have been discovered on Mercury’s Surface from images acquired during MESSENGER’s first Mercury Fly-By. This image shows the largest feature identified as a Volcano in the upper center of the scene. The Volcano has a central kidney-shaped depression, which is the Vent, and a broad smooth Dome surrounding the Vent. The Volcano is located just inside the Rim of the Caloris Impact Basin. The Rim of the Basin is marked with Hills and Mountains, as visible in this image. The role of Volcanism in Mercury’s history had been previously debated, but MESSENGER’s discovery of the first identified Volcanoes on Mercury’s Surface shows that Volcanism was active in the distant past on the innermost Planet.
Date Acquired: January 14, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET:108826877
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 270 meters/pixel (0,17 miles/pixel)
Scale: this image is about 270 Km across (approx. 170 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: 10.500 Km (approx. 6500 miles)MareKromium
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ESP_024484_1750-PCF-LXTT-01.jpgMeanders and Tributaries in Ridge Form in the Zephyria Region (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)203 visiteMars Local Time: 14:26 (early afternoon)
Coord. (centered): 5,1° South Lat. and 151,6° East Long.
Spacecraft altitude: 269,6 Km (such as about 168,5 miles)
Original image scale range: 53,9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~ 1 mt and 62 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale: 50 cm/pixel
Map projection: EQUIRECTANGULAR
Emission Angle: 4,7°
Phase Angle: 42,9°
Solar Incidence Angle: 39° (meaning that the Sun is about 51° above the Local Horizon)
Solar Longitude: 16,4° (Northern Spring)
Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Additional process. and coloring: Lunar Explorer ItaliaMareKromium
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OPP-SOL2793-GB-LXTT-03.jpgSolar Panels - Sol 2793 (an Image-Mosaic in Natural Colors by Dr Gianluigi Barca - Lunexit Team)203 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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