Opportunity transmits first images
Posted: Sun, Jan 25, 2004, 9:12 AM ET (1412 GMT)
The Mars rover Opportunity has taken the first images of its landing site, revealing a relatively flat, featureless plain save for an unusual outcropping of rocks. The spacecraft, which landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars early Sunday, sent back over 75 black-and-white and color images of the landing site taken within a few hours of landing. Unlike Gusev Crater, the region where Opportunity's twin Spirit landed three weeks ago, the landscape is not littered with rocks and shows few major terrain features. A panoramic image of the landing site does show an unusual rock outcropping that scientists think may be the first accessible bedrock feature seen on the planet. The surface also has a darker color than see in other landing sites. "Opportunity has touched down in a bizarre, alien landscape," said principal investigator Steven Squyres. The images also show no airbag material or other obstructions that would block Opportunity from rolling off the main ramp.
The Mars rover Opportunity has taken the first images of its landing site, revealing a relatively flat, featureless plain save for an unusual outcropping of rocks. The spacecraft, which landed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars early Sunday, sent back over 75 black-and-white and color images of the landing site taken within a few hours of landing. Unlike Gusev Crater, the region where Opportunity's twin Spirit landed three weeks ago, the landscape is not littered with rocks and shows few major terrain features. A panoramic image of the landing site does show an unusual rock outcropping that scientists think may be the first accessible bedrock feature seen on the planet. The surface also has a darker color than see in other landing sites. "Opportunity has touched down in a bizarre, alien landscape," said principal investigator Steven Squyres. The images also show no airbag material or other obstructions that would block Opportunity from rolling off the main ramp.
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