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Spotlight On Mars - Image
No Talking and Driving on Mars
September 08, 2008
This animated gif is a combination of three still images. The first false-color image shows an exposure of thin, horizontal layers of rock, colored a peachy-tan. Loose material and pearl-shaped pebbles colored light blue are scattered on top of and around the rock. In the foreground, near the bottom of the image, is a large rock, the outline of which is shaped somewhat like a political map of the state of Nevada. The second black-and-white image mosaic shows a slope rising up and away from the leading edge of Opportunity's solar panels and the top of its robotic arm. Extending vertically upward are the tracks the rover created as it moved downslope to its current position. In the foreground is an expanse of loose, sandy material. Beyond that, near the crater rim, is a flat pavement of rocks interspersed here and there with sand. The third image shows Opportunity's shadow stretching long and dark toward the edge of the ledge the rover has been exploring inside 'Victoria Crater.' Beyond that is the interior of the crater, almost washed out by bright sunlight.


Question: What does the Mars rover Opportunity have in common with safe drivers?
Answer: The rover doesn't talk on the phone while driving.

If conditions get dicey, as they sometimes do, Opportunity stops driving and waits for a phone call from Earth. That happened recently when Opportunity tried to climb a steep slope to an area of layered rocks nicknamed "Nevada." Like an athlete straining under too much weight, the left front wheel suddenly drew too much current.

Engineers talked Opportunity through a series of tests and found nothing unusual. Even so, they told Opportunity to leave "Victoria Crater" rather than risk wheel failure. With the crater in its shadow, Opportunity set its sights on the crater's rim.

Opportunity frequently "talks" to engineers, but not when moving. The rover can't point its powerful dish antenna while driving. When the wheels are in motion, the rover's eyes are on the road.

Images courtesy of:
Panoramic camera/Navigation camera/Rear hazard-avoidance camera
False-color image credits (layered rocks): NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
Black-and-white image credits (crater rim and rover shadow): NASA/JPL-Caltech

Related press releases
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20080826a.html http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20080829a.html

Higher Res Images:
  This false-color image shows an exposure of thin, horizontal layers of rock, colored a peachy-tan. Loose material and pearl-shaped pebbles colored light blue are scattered on top of and around the rock. In the foreground, near the bottom of the image, is a large rock, the outline of which is shaped somewhat like a political map of the state of Nevada.
Full Size Still Image
This image shows , in black and white, is a microscopic view of densely scattered dust particles coating the electrical wiring and tiny circuits of the rover's solar cells.
Full Size Still Image
This image, acquired by Spirit on June 19, 2008, is a black-and-white view of an array of solar cells next to the panoramic-camera calibration target, all obscured .
Full Size Still Image
USA.gov
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