This
mosaic image taken on Jan. 4, 2004, by the navigation camera on the
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shows a 360 degree panoramic view of the
rover on the surface of Mars. Spirit operated for more than six years
after landing in January 2004 for what was planned as a three-month
mission.
Spirit drove 4.8 miles (7.73 kilometers), more than 12 times the goal
set for the mission. The drives crossed a plain to reach a distant
range of hills that appeared as mere bumps on the horizon from the
landing site; climbed slopes up to 30 degrees as Spirit became the first
robot to summit a hill on another planet; and covered more than half a
mile (nearly a kilometer) after Spirit's right-front wheel became
immobile in 2006. The rover returned more than 124,000 images. It ground
the surfaces off 15 rock targets and scoured 92 targets with a brush to
prepare the targets for inspection with spectrometers and a microscopic
imager.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL
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