Starship Asterisk*

Spirit Rover at Engineering Flats on Mars

Explanation: Is it art? If so, the paintbrush was the Spirit robotic rover, the canvas was the soil on Mars, and the artists were the scientists and engineers of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. This panoramic picture, created in 2004 and shown above compressed horizontally, was mostly unintentional -- the MERS team was primarily instructing Spirit to investigate rocks in and around Hank's Hollow in a location called Engineering Flats on Mars. After creating the ground display with its treads, the Spirit rover was instructed to photograph the area along with itself in shadow. In 2010 as winter approaches in northern Mars, Spirit, still mired in sand, has been placed in an energy saving "hibernating" mode until spring arrives and more direct sunlight might be used to power the robotic explorer.

<< Previous APOD

Discuss Any APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

When I left clicked the image to see it uncompressed and then left clicked the magnifying glass curser. I started from Rovers shadow and started panning right. I then had a thought based upon an old Twilight Zone show I saw. I thought to myself, "Now I will see some telephone poles coming from over the horizon with a highway next to them."

I am tempted to download the image and photoshop it.

Don

With the horizontal compression it is (at least to me) a very odd looking picture. It makes it look like Spirit had been diving across the side of a steep hill. No wonder the poor thing needs a rest!

In the explanation it mentions the MERS team, which was a link to the Mars Exploration Rovers Mission website but that site did not define MERS. I thought it may be Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, but I'm unsure. I am wondering if the definition of MERS used in the explanation is definitely known, as a search of the NASA website defined MERS as 'Multipurpose Exoterrain for Robotic Studies' but that did not seem to be part of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. I now wonder if it perhaps should be MERs and so Mars Exploration Rovers. Thanks for any help in clarifying what MERS stands for in relation to the APOD.