HiRISE and Mars Polar Lander |
HiRISE and Mars Polar Lander |
Guest_Sunspot_* |
Dec 6 2006, 02:05 PM
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Guests |
Looking at the images of the Spirit/Opportunity landing site, it seems many of the features such as tracks and rocket blast markings have faded considerably often to the point of being invisible in the nearly three years since landing.
This had me thinking about the MGS images taken in the hope of finding MPL. Initially it was reported that MGS had spotted the lander, one image had a white spot/streak interpreted as the parachute and a dark patch with a spot in the centre not too far off, taken to be the blast zone of the rockets with the lander in the centre. However another image taken 5 years later seemed to discount this theory - the features had faded or changed significantly. BUT, seeing how much the rover sites have changed in an even shorter time, wouldn't the same happen to the MPL site in 5 years - perhaps to an even greater degree with the more extreme seasonal changes at that location. Also, the latest HiRISE images show just how difficult it has been to spot the landers on the surface with MGS, the Viking sites in particular. I hope HiRISE takes another look at this spot. Mars Polar Lander NOT Found, MSSS article: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/10/17/ |
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May 13 2008, 09:17 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 258 Joined: 22-December 06 Member No.: 1503 |
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May 13 2008, 10:07 PM
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Member Group: Senior Member Posts: 136 Joined: 8-August 06 Member No.: 1022 |
I finally have a real close-up view of my feature. It is strange. I'm not so sure it is the lander, unless the parachute landed on top of it and is completely draped over it. Here is a view. There is nothing like this anywhere near. Most other features nearby are dark colored sand dunes. That's a conical pit. There is another one in the region. I remember wondering whether this might be the lander, sunk into the ice. But it's a pretty big hole. I think I measured it around 50 meters across. I think other similar pits can be found elsewhere in this terrain, though I don't think there were any near this one. -Tim. |
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