Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Heat Shield Impact Crater on Mars

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 9, 2005 is “Heat Shield Impact Crater on Mars,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 115 words.

Heat Shield Impact Crater on Mars
Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Broken metal and scorched Mars make the impact site of Opportunity’s heat shield one of the more interesting sites inspected by the rolling robot . Visible on the image left is the conical outer hull of the shattered heat shield expelled by Opportunity as it plummeted toward Mars last year.”

— APOD editors, February 9, 2005

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 9, 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 115 words

All of February 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: February 9 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source

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.