Essential Lens: Analyzing Photographs Across the Curriculum
Processes of Science: Mars, a Case Study #6001 Dune
Metadata
Date: February 9, 2014
Location: Mars
Photographer: NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Caption
This looks back at a dune across which NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity drove. The rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) took this photo during the 538th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars (Feb. 9, 2014). The rover drove over the dune three days earlier.
For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 9 feet (2.7 meters). The dune is about 3 feet (1 meter) tall in the middle of its span across an opening called “Dingo Gap.” This view is looking eastward.
The image has been white-balanced to show what the Martian surface materials would look like if under the light of Earth’s sky.
Rights
Photos downloaded from the Essential Lens site are cleared for educational use only.
