Space Industry and Business News  
Dust Devils Whip By Spirit

View animation here
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 16, 2007
On sol 1120 (February 26, 2007), the navigation camera aboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured one of the best dust devils it's seen in its three-plus year mission. The series of navigation camera images were put together to make a dust devil movie.

The dust devil column is clearly defined and is clearly bent in the down wind direction. Near the end of the movie, the base of the dust devil becomes much wider. The atmospheric science team thinks that this is because the dust devil encountered some sand and therefore produced a "saltation skirt," an apron of material that is thrown out of the dust devil because it is too large to be carried up into suspension.

Also near the end of the movie the dust devil seems to move faster across the surface. This is because Spirit began taking pictures less frequently, and not because the dust devil sped up

Related Links
Mars Rovers at JPL
Mars Rovers at Cornell
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Investigating The Dark Streak Of Victoria Crater
Pasadena CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2007
Opportunity is healthy and spent the last week investigating the dark material trailing north from "Victoria Crater." The plan this week included two brief robotic arm campaigns at different areas roughly 33 meters (108 feet) apart. Opportunity will collect a series of microscopic images and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integrations on the soil along with other remote science observations.







  • All Of Russia Will Have Internet And Phone Access
  • Wildblue High-Speed Internet Via Satellite Triples Capacity With New Satellite
  • Publish, Perish Attitudes Make Profs Balk At Online Publication
  • World Getting Ready To Change The Light Bulb

  • Russia Puts 16 Foreign Satellites Into Orbit
  • Indian Space Agency Set For First Commercial Launch Of Foreign Satellite
  • Russia To Launch Four US Satellites In May
  • PSLV-C8 To Be Launched On April 23

  • Nondestructive Testing Keeps Bagram Aircraft Flying
  • New FAA Oceanic Air Traffic System Designed By Lockheed Martin Fully Operational
  • NASA Seeks New Research Proposals
  • Germans Urged To Give Foreign Travel A Rest To Curb Global Warming

  • Raytheon To Supply Canada With Enhanced Position Location Reporting System Terminals
  • Intelsat To Test Internet Routing In Space For The US Military
  • Northrop Grumman And LockMart Team Up For Integrated Air And Missile Defense Battle Command
  • Harris Donates OS/COMET For Use In FalconSAT Program

  • A New Generation Of Space Tethers
  • Rolls-Royce Selects Bristol University For Composites Research
  • Tests Demonstrate Functionality Of Next Generation Processor Router For TSAT
  • Sri Lanka Tigers Deny Using Satellite Illegally

  • Townsend To Lead Ball Aerospace Exploration Systems In Huntsville
  • NASA Nobel Prize Recipient To Lead Chief Scientist Office
  • Kathryn Kynard Plays Key Role In Ares I Upper Stage Engine Development
  • William Shernit Joins Intelsat General As President and CEO

  • Scientists Meet To Review Envisat Results After Five Years Of Operations
  • US Uses Landsat Satellite Data To Fight Hunger And Poverty
  • NOAA And NASA Restore Climate Sensor To Upcoming NPP Satellite
  • High-Resolution Images Herald New Era In Earth Sciences

  • Northrop Grumman Team OCX Bids On The GPS Next Generation Control Segment Contract
  • China Launches Compass Navigation Satellite
  • GPS Significantly Impacted By Powerful Solar Radio Burst
  • Russia To Expand Glonass Satellite Group By Year End

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement