Mars Pathfinder

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Mars Pathfinder, der blev afsendt den 4. december 1996 af den amerikanske rumfartsorganistation, NASA, var den første mission, der landede et køretøj på Mars. Undervejs til Mars blev rumfartøjets kurs justeret fire gange, nemlig den 10. januar, 3. februar, 6. maj og 25. juni. Efter en rejse på 7 måneder landede Mars Pathfinder vha. airbags den 4. juli 1997. Efter landingen kørte Sojourner rundt i nærheden af landeren og undersøgte klippeblokke med navne som Barnacle Bill, Yogi og Scooby-Doo. Sojourner kommunikerede med Jorden ved hjælp af landeren som relæstation. Landingsstedet blev retrospektivt døbt The Carl Sagan Memorial Station efter JPL's Carl Sagan. Erfaringerne med Mars Pathfinder og Sojourner er siden brugt ved designet af robotterne Spirit og Opportunity der landede i januar 2004.

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A drawing of NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger. Image provided by Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. See [1], specifically EG-0076-04.eps.
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Original Caption Released with NASA Image:

Photo from Viking Lander 2 shows late-winter frost on the ground on Mars around the lander. The view is southeast over the top of Lander 2, and shows patches of frost around dark rocks. The surface is reddish-brown; the dark rocks vary in size from 10 centimeters (four inches) to 76 centimeters (30 inches) in diameter. This picture was obtained September 25, 1977. The frost deposits were detected for the first time 12 Martian days (sols) earlier in a black-and-white image. Color differences between the white frost and the reddish soil confirm that we are observing frost. The Lander Imaging Team is trying to determine if frost deposits routinely form due to cold night temperatures, then disappear during the warmer daytime. Preliminary analysis, however, indicates the frost was on the ground for some time and is disappearing over many days. That suggests to scientists that the frost is not frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) but is more likely a carbon dioxide clathrate (six parts water to one part carbon dioxide). Detailed studies of the frost formation and disappearance, in conjunction with temperature measurements from the lander’s meteorology experiment, should be able to confirm or deny that hypothesis, scientists say.
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Official insignia of the Mars Pathfinder mission, which successfully landed a lander and rover on Mars in July 1997.