Three years of roving at Wolverine’s Den

Three years of roving

08Jan07

MER

After logging a 487-million-kilometer journey to the red planet, Spirit, the first of NASA’s two Mars Exploration Rovers, touched down safely in Mars’ Gusev Crater back on January 3rd, 2004. The rover was originally scheduled to complete a three-month mission surveying interesting scientific targets, and the initial plans estimated that Spirit would only traverse a few hundred meters within that limited window. I remember watching live coverage on NASA TV as if it were yesterday, and the cheers that echoed through mission control when its first image was returned to Earth.

Here we are in 2007, and both MERs continue about their missions after several funding extensions, having exceeded any and all expectations. Spirit has traveled roughly 6.9 kilometers in its ongoing study of the Martian surface, and in the process has beamed home in excess of 88,500 images. These are true marvels of engineering.

In commemoration of this third anniversary (Opportunity’s is soon to follow), a new photo contest has been posted where you may vote for your favorite imagery. Also available courtesy of JPL, a short video retrospective — Three Years on Mars: Spirit’s Story.

Here’s wishing the MERs and all the fine folks on the project many happy returns.

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3 Responses to “Three years of roving”

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1 Solar Flare on Jan 9th, 2007 said:

I watched the video. Notice the two employees with 3-D glasses on peering at the computer? I need some new ones.

That was tough choosing a best photo (though you can click on them as many times as you’d like). The false color photos are more dramatic, but I decided the two microscopic images were most interesting - and microscopic photos on Mars! So, I chose the hematite “blueberries” (though I was hesitating on the lava). The sunset was another possibility. Why? Because it looks so ordinary, like a picture from Earth. But it’s not.

What’s your pick?

We’ve definitely gotten our money out of the rovers. Thanks.
2 Wolverine on Jan 9th, 2007 said:

For scientific value, I have to go with the hematite.

But for eye candy, the sunset wins in my book — what a great bit of perspective.
3 Wolverine on Jan 22nd, 2007 said:

And the winner is… the sunset.
http://marsdata1.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/photoContest/index.cfm