19-Feb-2004 Press Release Images 19-Feb-2004 Halfway There This map shows the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's travels since arriving on the red planet Jan. 3, 2004 PST. Spirit is on its way to a large crater nicknamed "Bonneville." On the 45th day, or sol, of its mission (Feb.18, 2004), it stopped off at the shallow depression dubbed "Laguna Hollow" to investigate the fine-grained soil contained there. The rover is not far from Bonneville's ejecta, the blanket of material expelled from the crater when it was hit by whatever celestial object created it. So far, Spirit has traveled about 120 meters from its lander. Data within the yellow box represent a digital map made of images taken by rover's panoramic and navigation cameras. Data outside this box are a composite of images from the rover's descent image motion estimation system camera and the orbiter Mars Global Surveyor. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell/MSSS/OSU /New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Browse Image (55 kB) | Large (267 kB) 'Laguna Hollow' Undisturbed This image shows the patch of soil at the bottom of the shallow depression dubbed "Laguna Hollow" where the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will soon begin trenching. Scientists are intrigued by the clustering of small pebbles and the crack-like fine lines, which indicate a coherent surface that expands and contracts. A number of processes can cause materials to expand and contract, including cycles of heating and cooling; freezing and thawing; and rising and falling of salty liquids within a substance. This false-color image was created using the blue, green and infrared filters of the rover's panoramic camera. Scientists chose this particular combination of filters to enhance the heterogeneity of the martian soil. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell Browse Image (69 kB) | Large (1 MB)