First colour image from Mars (Spirit) rover is up!

NASA Mars Rover web site ^ | 6 Jan 04 | NASA

[Lokibob]

The lower right corner of the picture shows a mark from the air bags.

It is the strange mark not really looking like rocks.

[apillar]

One thing that stands out to me is the difference in the rocks between this and the pathfinder 1997 pictures.

These rocks seem to be much smoother than the rocks in the 1997 pics.

On a side note, my wife, who isn't the space enthusiast I am, walked in, took one look at the mars picture and declared that they managed to land in the most boring spot on the whole planet.

[bonfire]

Ping list bump.

[stanz]

Spectacular!
Thanks for posting that link.

[LizardQueen]

Cool picture. Looks like Utah :)

Are those dried up lake beds in the background?

LQ

[Maigrey]

No wonder it too so long to beam back from Mars. 8 mb from outer space takes forever on that pesky satellite dial-up!

[Ex-Dem]

Thanks. More pics here:

First color image	Horizon	Windtails
Smooth rock	Airbag marks	Deflated airbags - image taken at JPL
Airbags - image taken at JPL	Retracted airbags - image taken at JPL	Airbag deflates on Mars

[Sir Gawain]

Maybe it's a drop in the bucket but all those NASA downloads use their bandwidth

Gotta get my money's worth out of NASA any way I can.

[steveo]

Look! On the far hill, Tourist guy!

[John H K]

On a side note, my wife, who isn't the space enthusiast I am, walked in, took one look at the mars picture and declared that they managed to land in the most boring spot on the whole planet.

Because of the landing method and safety parameters 95% of Mars was off-limits.

Mars is filled with spectacular Mauna Loas, Grand Tetons, and Grand Canyon-type terrain but we just can't risk landing near it. We've had a hard enough time just landing stuff on flat plains so far.

[longtermmemmory]

bump

[Lokibob]

If you capture the 8 meg image and photoshop (I use paint shop pro) to clean it up, it is even more amazing.

[1rudeboy]

You might choose to remind your wife that the entire planet looks that way. It's not like NASA decided to park farthest from the entrance to the mall.

[John H K]

These rocks seem to be much smoother than the rocks in the 1997 pics.

Potentially of extreme significance, as the main reason Gusev was picked was the belief that it had been repeatedly flooded by liquid water.

How does one get smooth rounded rocks? Water.

[Professional Engineer]

OOOO Looky, trilobites.

[alnitak]

I was discussing that possibility with some colleagues in the office, thanks for the confirmation. I find it difficult to tell whether it is just darker exposed sand or some sort of rock.

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[ThePointer]

My feeble mind cannot comprehend this. My daughter's RC car loses control after fifty feet. How are they able to control and download images from 105 million miles away?

[Snowy]

Pretty cool. It would be cooler if someone could photoshop in an alien or something.