Astronomy Picture of the Day · January 9, 2004

Sol 5 Postcard from Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 9, 2004 is “Sol 5 Postcard from Mars,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 128 words.

From the explanation

“A martian Sol – the average martian solar day – is about 39 minutes longer than Earth’s familiar 24 hour day. Operating on martian time , the Spirit rover recently sent back this color postcard image , recorded on Sol 5 of its stay on the martian surface.”

— APOD editors, January 9, 2004

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: January 9, 2004
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 128 words

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Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 9 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, January 9, 2004 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2004-january-9-sol-5-postcard-from-mars

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.