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Decade-Old Rover Adventure Continues on Mars and Earth

By Guest PostJanuary 4, 2014Scienceancient environment, austin, bekah sosland, brett williams, columbia hills, earth, endeavour crater, Facebook, fredericksburg, high school teacher, image, john callas, jpl, mars, mars rovers, mars spacecraft, martian history, NASA, opportunity, red surface, rover adventure, rover project, spirit, Twitter, university of texas, water rich

Eighth graders didn’t have Facebook or Twitter to share news back then, in January 2004. Bekah Sosland, 14 at the time, learned about a NASA rover landing on Mars when the bouncing-ball video on the next morning’s Channel One news in her Fredericksburg, Texas, classroom caught her eye.

“I wasn’t particularly interested in space at the time,” she recalled last week inside the spacecraft operations facility where she now works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “I remember I was talking with friends, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed this thing bouncing and rolling on a red surface. I watched as it stopped and opened up, and it had this rover inside.” (more…)

Dark Shadows on Mars: Scene from Durable NASA Rover

By Guest PostMay 28, 2012Scienceancient mars, aqua tint, dark dunes, endeavour crater, giant basin, grand canyon, mars exploration rover, martian crater, martian dust, martian winter, meridiani region, nasa rover, opportunity, pancam, panoramic camera, shadows on mars, spirit, wet environments

Like a tourist waiting for just the right lighting to snap a favorite shot during a stay at the Grand Canyon, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has used a low sun angle for a memorable view of a large Martian crater.

The resulting view catches a shadow of the rover in the foreground and the giant basin in the distance. Opportunity is perched on the western rim of Endeavour Crater looking eastward. The crater spans about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter. Opportunity has been studying the edge of Endeavour Crater since arriving there in August 2011. (more…)

Mars Movie: I’m Dreaming of a Blue Sunset

By Guest PostDecember 26, 20103 commentsSciencedust particles, french author, jim bell, marcel proust, mark lemmon, mars, mars exploration rover opportunity, mars movie, martian moons, martian sky, martian sunset, moon phobos, opportunity, pancam, robotic emissaries, spirit, sun, sunset movie, sunset movie from mars

A new Mars movie clip gives us a rover’s-eye view of a bluish Martian sunset, while another clip shows the silhouette of the moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

America’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, carefully guided by researchers with an artistic sense, has recorded images used in the simulated movies.

These holiday treats from the rover’s panoramic camera, or Pancam, offer travel fans a view akin to standing on Mars and watching the sky. (more…)

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Decade-Old Rover Adventure Continues on Mars and Earth

Dark Shadows on Mars: Scene from Durable NASA Rover

Mars Movie: I’m Dreaming of a Blue Sunset