Spirit Pan from Gusev Crater
Explanation:
After a seven month voyage of nearly 500 million kilometers
through interplanetary space, NASA's
Spirit
Rover has reached the surface of Mars.
Scroll right and see a mosaic panorama of Spirit's
first images returned
from its
landing
site in Gusev Crater!
Taken by Spirit's
navigation camera, the panorama covers 360 degrees,
with the spacecraft in the foreground and the floor of
Gusev Crater,
thought to be an ancient lake bed, extending to the horizon.
The
entry,
descent, and landing phase of Spirit's mission -
referred to by mission planners as "Six Minutes of Terror" -
began Saturday night around 8:30pm PST as Spirit entered
the martian atmosphere at about 20,000 kilometers per hour.
Updates
on Spirit's status will be posted throughout the day.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
