SCI/TECH: First Light, Hello Mars

"One of the most intriguing initial panoramas from Spirit's new resting place shows a depression or crater in the near-center of the horizon, and hills in the distance. The site appears 'clean' to principal investigator, Steven Squyres, who is anxious for enough rocks to look for lake-bed sediments, but not too many for restricted driving." astrobio.net... (full-size image shown at above link) by Astrobiology Magazine staffwriter "The lander is currently facing south, with a 73 centimeter rock butted against its nominal egress path and a semi-retracted airbag. The team is considering a one-third turn in place next to get off the landing petal and drive around as a robotic geologist." Excellent news from NASA and a great relief to all. Finally... we didn't loose another one! [Edited on 4-1-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

More coverage here: apnews.myway.com... NASA's Mars Rover Sends Its First Photos Jan 4, 10:25 AM (ET) By ANDREW BRIDGES "PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - NASA's Spirit rover has sent its first images from Mars, showing a landscape scattered with small rocks that brought cheers from scientists. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began receiving the first of an estimated 60 to 80 images from Spirit's cameras late Saturday, just three hours after the robot made an apparently flawless landing on Mars. Scientists quickly assembled multiple black and white images to form a sweeping panoramic of the Martian landscape, as well as a bird's-eye view of the rover with its solar panels fully deployed." Looks like this one will be fully functional... and most important... not lost!

And love the pictures from Mars. Keep the info coming SO!

Another image from mars taken by the hazard avoidance camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit and shows the rover's rear lander petal and, in the background, the Martian horizon. Great shot!

The Spirit rover survived the perilous plunge through the Martian atmosphere after a seven-month voyage from Earth.A second rover, named Opportunity, is expected to land on the other side of the planet at the end of January.
more....

news.bbc.co.uk...

Q&A: What can Mars rovers expect?
The first US rover - called Spirit - landed on at Mars at about 0435 GMT on Sunday. The "robotic geologist" will be followed down in late January by its twin, Opportunity. more.....

news.bbc.co.uk...

Well, it looks like the Mars Curse hasn't struck again! Great job to NASA, for making a comeback, especially after the Columbia disaster (God rest their souls)

It's twin will be setting down later this month, and we should definately be getting some great footage of Mars

-wD

But they still aren't telling us everything

Originally posted by ThePook
But they still aren't telling us everything

AWESOME JOB POOK!!!!!!
PEACE...
m...

Well maybe now that the rover is on Mars it can just roll over to the crator where beagle is supposed to be and give it a jump start.