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Mars panorama infographic
Picture shows Mars panorama. MUST CREDIT NASA
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SPACE

Mars panorama

April 7, 2001 - NASA launches Odyssey spacecraft, named in honour of the book and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, on a 30-month geological survey to Mars.

Picture shows panorama of Martian surface taken by Mars Pathfinder spacecraft in 1997.

On July 4, 1997, “Pathfinder” landed on Mars and transformed our view of the Red Planet.

From left to right: The cylindrical upright object is the low-gain antenna for communicating with Earth. To the right is the ramp down which “Sojourner” -- the Mars Rover -- descended.

In the distance rise the “Twin Peaks,” some 1,200 metres away. Above the collapsed airbag, near the Rover ramp is the spherical rock called “Grommit,” and above the base of the ramp is the famous “Barnacle Bill.”

In the centre of the picture the 63 centimetre-long (24.5-inch) “Sojourner” rover is taking measurements of the balsamic rock known as “Yogi.”

As “Sojourner” explored the alien landscape scientists back on Earth calibrated the rover’s instruments and created a coherent history of the jumbled Mars surface. On October 6, 1997, mission controllers lost contact with “Pathfinder” as the spacecraft’s batteries finally gave out.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 3/4/2001; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: NASA
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