Vista Inside Gusev Crater on Mars
Credit:
Marco Di Lorenzo et al. courtesy Aviation Week,
Mars Exploration Rover Mission,
Cornell,
JPL,
NASA;
What is the geologic history of Mars?
To help find out, the
robot Spirit rover
explored the terrain on the way up to the top of Husband Hill and took pictures along the way.
Earth-bound team members later combined images from one camera with
colors from another to create this semi-realistic vista from near the top of the rugged hill.
Many rock faces were imaged and probed along the way.
The above image captures not only a high and distant Mars inside
Gusev crater,
but also more of the refrigerator-sized Spirit rover
than other
similar
vistas.
Visible technology includes a wide array of energy-absorbing
solar panels, a
sundial, and the
circular
high gain communications antenna.