Looking back at 10 years of imaging by the Mars Exploration Rovers (Video)

A Photographer on Mars: Emily Lakdawalla Talks With Jim Bell

Jim Bell leads the camera team for the Mars Exploration Rovers that reached Mars exactly 10 years ago. He's also the best-selling author of "Postcards From Mars" and other books, and he is President of the Planetary Society Board. Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla talks with Jim about some of his favorite images of the Red Planet.

NASA / JPL / Cornell

Spirit's lander

After rolling off its lander onto the surface of Mars, Spirit turned back to capture this 20-frame mosaic of its empty nest on sol 16 (January 18/19, 2004). The Red Rover Goes to Mars DVD is visible toward the back of the right-hand lander petal.

NASA / JPL / Cornell

Opportunity's "Lion King" panorama, sols 58 and 60

Opportunity took the photos for this panorama -- the largest obtained to date by either rover -- after exiting Eagle Crater on sol 58 (March 25, 2004). This panorama depicts a story of exploration including the rover's lander, a thorough examination of the outcrop, a study of the soils at the near-side of the lander, a successful exit from Eagle Crater and finally the rover's next desination, the large crater dubbed "Endurance".

NASA / JPL / Emily Lakdawalla

Opportunity's first photo from the surface of Mars

This Navcam image was returned by Opportunity shortly after its landing in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004. The rover's mast had not yet been deployed, so the Navcams looked down the mast (the cylinder at left), across the pristine solar panels on the deck of the rover, at the wall of Eagle Crater, which contained a bright-colored outcrop of rock.

NASA / JPL / USGS / Cornell

Blueberries at "Stone Mountain," Opportunity sol 14

When Opportunity examined the soil inside Eagle Crater, the rover spotted strange round pebbles that the rover team referred to as "blueberries" for their relatively blue color (they are actually gray, but that is "bluer" than the red soil) and for the way they appeared dotted around like blueberries in a muffin. This photo is a mosaic of Microscopic Imager images, colorized with lower-resolution Pancam data, from sol 14 (February 7, 2004).

NASA / JPL / Cornell

Opportunity panorama at Burns Cliff, sols 287-294

This challenging panorama was taken by Opportunity while the rover was perched on the slope of Burns Cliff. Because it is a wide-angle view, the cliff walls appear to bulge out toward the camera. In reality the walls form a gently curving, continuous surface.

NASA / JPL / Cornell / Texas A&M

Sunset on Mars

On May 19th, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars.

NASA / JPL / Cornell / Doug Ellison

Spirit at El Dorado dunes, sol 708

After descending from Husband Hill, Spirit crept to the edge of a dark dune field named El Dorado on sol 708 (December 30, 2005).

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell

A dusty start to Spirit's winter

This image juxtaposes two "deck pans" captured by the Pancam instrument on Spirit at different times in the mission. On the left is the self-portrait from the top of Husband Hill, when Spirit's deck was nearly as clean as the day the rover landed. On the right is a view taken in October of 2007, following the summer's dust storm. Dust from the sky has settled on both the rover deck and the surrounding landscape, coloring the rover the same rust color as the dirt around it. The dust-covered solar cells cannot be able to generate as much power as when they were clean. Spirit survived the following Martian winter despite the high dust levels, and the rover team got very useful practice surviving through periods of very low power during the height of the dust storm. Now, though, even more dust may be falling on Spirit.

NASA / JPL / Cornell

Cape St. Vincent, Victoria Crater, Opportunity sol 1167

This image captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Cape St. Vincent," one of the many promontories that jut out from the walls of Victoria Crater, Mars. The material at the top of the promontory consists of loose, jumbled rock, then a bit further down into the crater, abruptly transitions to solid bedrock. This transition point is marked by a bright band of rock, visible around the entire crater. Scientists say this bright band represents what used to be the surface of Mars just before an impact formed Victoria Crater.