Mars: A Journey's End
Explanation:
Mars Pathfinder is nearing the end of its 7 month
journey.
The robot spacecraft is scheduled to use
parachutes, rockets, and airbags
to "bouncedown" on
the red planet
tomorrow -
July 4th.
This Hubble Space Telescope image of Mars was taken a few days ago
to check on the weather.
The pathfinder landing site, on the ancient floodplain Ares Vallis,
is just right of center - 500 miles southeast
of where
Viking 1 landed in 1976.
Along with
the martian north polar cap, some water ice clouds
are visible in both
the northern and southern hemisphere.
About 600 miles south of the landing site a dust storm
can be seen as a brownish ribbon stretching through the
the Valles Marineris, a continent sized canyon system.
Fortunately, the dust storm is not expected to seriously affect
operations at the landing site.
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.
