There's
majesty on Mars. Through the lenses of two wheeled robots--Spirit and Opportunity--the red planet's
austere but stunning landscape has been captured in thousands of images relayed
back to Earth.
Before
humans on Mars pose themselves for those take home photographs, our eyes have
already been firmly planted on that time-weathered world.
Both
NASA rovers remain hale and hardy as they near three years of rolling about
within their respective exploration zones after setting down to business on
Mars in January 2004.
Each
rover made the trip with carry on luggage: science instruments and cameras. And
now thanks to a new book, Postcards from Mars (Dutton, 2006), an
extraordinary gallery of hand-picked images shows Mars in first-time format.
Huge volume
"I'm
a tactile book person. I like the printed page and seeing images," explained
Jim Bell, author of Postcards from Mars, a landscape photographer since
he was a child. He is an associate professor in the Cornell University
Astronomy department and leader of the team who designed and operate the color
Panoramic Camera (Pancam) systems on the twin Mars rovers.
While
the images taken by Spirit and Opportunity can be found posted across the Internet,
it's often difficult to find them all in a single spot, Bell told SPACE.com.
"So I thought it would be a good idea to gather my impression of the greatest
hits to date in one place," he added.
So
far, the rovers have collectively churned out over 160,000 images, Bell noted.
Put
that in focus with the Viking Mars landers of the 1970s that relayed 1,400
images. Then there's the 1997 mission of Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner that
transmitted about 16,000 images.
"We've
had spectacular orbiters relaying the data to Earth for us. So we've been able
to downlink so much more," Bell pointed out. For the book, he had a huge volume of
Spirit and Opportunity imagery to cull through that were taken into late spring of 2006.
Foldouts from another world
The
Pancam on each rover provides a truly human viewpoint, Bell observed. In terms
of resolution and natural color, the rovers are providing the best look to date
of what it's like to actually stand there on Mars.
Mars
scenery as caught by each Pancam--from about a meter and a half above the
landscape--is at the height of a typical 10 year old kid.
Bell stressed that he
doesn't have a favorite between the two robots. "Each of them is so different.
The discoveries each has made are complementary, but different. I wanted to
keep that balance in there," he said, so the book's photo spreads are pretty
evenly split between Spirit and Opportunity.
Admittedly,
there were tough decisions about the set of foldouts for the book--select views
that reflect the sweeping topography of Mars.
"I
tried to make a representative sampling of the different kinds of terrain that
we have driven through," Bell said.
Making tracks
How
does one go about picking "greatest hits" from the treasure trove of rover
photographs? The book showcases over 150 of Bell's favorites.
"Most
of the time we haven't had the luxury of thinking like photographers and
composing images. It's been a rare luxury...something we haven't been able to do
that often," Bell responded.
Having
parts of the rover in the foreground, be it outstretched robot arm, solar
array, or the deck of the Mars machinery, gives a sense of depth of field, Bell
said. "The other thing that seems to resonate well with the public is seeing
the rover tracks."
Bell explained that the
wheel tracks imprinted in martian surface are particularly appealing when they converge off toward the horizon.
"It
just gives you a sense of adventure, exploration...you think of a covered wagon...a
dune buggy. You just think of traveling," Bell suggested. "You can imagine yourself being
out there and seeing this scene. It's a natural, bizarre alien scene but here
are these tracks. They are a familiar thing. Here's a car driving across the
landscape."
Next real leap
Despite
the dual rovers being given an A-plus on their photo assignments, the limelight
will be shared given future hardware now being readied for Mars.
Next
summer, NASA's Phoenix Mars lander departs for the red planet's icy north pole.
Its cameras are akin to the rover Pancams, using the same detectors and
comparable optics.
The
next real leap in surface camera equipment is to be toted by NASA's Mars
Science Laboratory (MSL), a huge rover that blasts off in 2009.
MSL's
mast cameras--Mastcam for short--would capture the martian terrain in color
photos, three-dimensional images, and high-definition video. New features on
the Mastcam would make it more versatile than previous rover cameras.
Bell is on the Mastcam
team led by Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems of San Diego, California.
"It's
a wonderful camera system that can go in color to a resolution about three
times better than the rover Pancams," Bell explained. "It's going to be a beautiful,
beautiful imaging system."
Blood, sweat and tears
Meanwhile,
Spirit and Opportunity soldier onward.
Putting
together Postcards from Mars, Bell said was a very emotional experience.
"Seeing it all in one place...all the different scenes. It shows the amount of
team work and collaboration. It represents the blood, sweat and tears of
hundreds and hundreds of people."
Today,
Spirit is perched for more action, ready to tackle new observations near the
Columbia Hills.
Planetary
partner, Opportunity, is taking astounding imagery from the edge of the huge Victoria Crater. Chances are good
that this robot will wheel itself down into that large feature, Bell said.
"It's
incredible how much our attitude has changed from early on...when it was just
rush, rush, rush, thinking that we're going to die at any moment. Now we're
thinking long-term because we've been able to," Bell said. More good news is that the cameras
on both rovers remain in good, sharp-shooting shape, he added.
So
Postcards from Mars, Volume 2, might seem right?
"No
kidding, with the way we're going," Bell concluded.
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