Spirit's Long Trek
This map shows the complete travels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit
through sol 238, the rover's 238th Martian day of service, which was Sept. 3
on Earth. This was shortly before the rover stopped driving for about two weeks
while Mars was nearly behind the Sun from Earth's perspective, and communications
were not possible.
The background image consists of frames from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's
Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.
From its landing site, Spirit drove up to the rim of Bonneville crater on the
far left and to the north rim of Missoula crater. Then it made a long drive
across the plains, deviating to avoid large hollows.
Upon arrival at the base of the Columbia Hills, Spirit drove north for a short
distance before beginning its ascent onto the West Spur, where it is currently
located. The drive was more than 2 miles total (3 kilometers) from the landing
site.
The scale bar at lower left is 1,640 feet (500 meters). North is up.
As of earlier this week, Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, are back at work. NASA extended their missions and provided new operational funding. Full Story
-- SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/JPL/New Mexico Museum of Natural History
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