Opportunity Images Dust Devil
Department:
Mars
Teaser:
"NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has photographed its first dust devil, a challenging feat in the area where in which Opportunity is working."
Source:
News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Download time: Jul 29 2010 7:40 AM ET
In its six-and-a-half years on Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity had never seen a dust devil before this month, despite some systematic searches in past years and the fact that its twin rover, Spirit, has seen dozens of dust devils at its location halfway around the planet.
A tall column of swirling dust appears in a routine image that Opportunity took with its panoramic camera on July 15. The rover took the image in the drive direction, east-southeastward, right after a drive of about 70 meters (230 feet). The image was taken for use in planning the next drive.
"This is the first dust devil seen by Opportunity," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, a member of the rover science team. …
