Astronomy Picture of the Day · January 21, 2005

Metal on the Plains of Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 21, 2005 is “Metal on the Plains of Mars,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 166 words.

From the explanation

“What has the Opportunity rover found on Mars? While traversing a vast empty plain in Meridiani Planum , one of Earth’s yearling rolling robots found a surprise when visiting the location of its own metallic heat shield discarded last year during descent.”

— APOD editors, January 21, 2005

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: January 21, 2005
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 166 words

All of January 2005 → · 2005 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Mars

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 21 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, January 21, 2005 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2005-january-21-metal-on-the-plains-of-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.