Press Release Images: Spirit

29-Nov-2004   Closeup View of Compacted Soil Soil on Mars can be a bit clumpy, as shown in this image of soil after it was compacted by one of the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Scientists think the light-colored material may be a global layer of airfall dust. Spirit's microscopic imager took this picture, showing an area approximately 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) square, during the rover's 314th martian day, or sol (Nov. 19, 2004). Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS Browse Image (68.2 kB) | Large (684 kB) Mars Rover Studies Soil on Mars Both out on the plains of Gusev Crater and in the "Columbia Hills," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has encountered a thin (approximately 1 millimeter or 0.04 inch thick), light-colored, fine-grained layer of material on top of a dark-colored, coarser layer of soil. In the hills, Spirit stopped to take a closer look at soil compacted by one of the rover's wheels. Spirit took this image with the front hazard-avoidance camera during the rover's 314th martian day, or sol (Nov. 19, 2004). Image credit: NASA/JPL Browse Image (35.7 kB) | Large (320 kB)

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