Tim Furniss/LONDON
NASA's MARS PATHFINDER spacecraft, which landed in the Ares Vallis on 4 July, has concluded its milestone 30-day primary mission, having fulfilled all of its objectives and provided a "new portrait of the Martian environment", says the space agency.
The Sagan Memorial Station lander and Sojourner rover have sent 1.2 gigabits of data and 9,669 pictures of the Martian landscape.
The craft will continue to operate for as long as possible, with the rover aiming at the distant hills in the hope that it can return a spectacular view of the landing site in about three weeks' time .
In its first 30 days, the Sojourner travelled 52m (170ft), demonstrating successfully its artificial-intelligence system's ability to detect and overcome hazards.
"The data returned have been nothing short of spectacular," says Wesley Huntress, NASA Associate Administrator for space science. The craft has recorded weather patterns, atmospheric opacity and the chemical composition of rocks washed down into the Ares Vallis flood plain.
"We are seeing much more differentiation of volcanic materials than we expected," says Matthew Golombek, Pathfinder project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory located in Pasadena, California.
The Mars Pathfinder mission has captured the imagination of the public, with 565 million "hits" being recorded between 1 July and 4 August on the mission web sites on the Internet.
Interest will move to the NASA Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, due to enter orbit around the Red Planet on 11 September.
Source: Flight International
