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CNN Live Sunday
Mars Rover "Opportunity" Sends Back First Pictures
Aired January 25, 2004 - 18:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, in the meantime, we want to head out to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) laboratory. Miles O'Brien standing by there with some new pictures from the mars rovers. Miles, what have you seen so far?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the Opportunity rover is in the absolute ideal location. It's a scientist's dream where it has landed. As a matter of fact, one described it a few moments ago, as a 300 million mile hole in one, inside a crater about 60 feet wide, and six feet deep. It's kind of like one-stop shopping for a scientist.
Really, just about every feature they could hope to explore is in this little depression on the planet Mars. Anything but depression here last night as Opportunity bounced to a landing.
Take a look at some of the pictures from the control room. As word filtered back across 11 minutes of light time to Earth. As the team got the word that it has bounced safely onto the surface, and was beginning the process of unfolding it's pedals, and off to work it went. Ever since, everything has been checking out fine. And the pictures have been streaming back.
With us to talk a little bit about those pictures as is customary, and has been for the past three weeks or so, Matt Golombeck, who is one of the scientists who was very instrumental in choosing the landing sites. He's a happy man today. Very happy not only with the site, but the location within the site. You couldn't ask for a better shot could you?
MATT GOLOMBECK, NASA SCIENTIST: That's right. It's spectacular having that dark plain with probably basaltic (ph) fragments, and that white outcrop on the rim of the crater is a geologist's treasure trove.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's give people quick orientation as to where we are on the planet Mars. This is a map which is a little bit misleading, because it shows the full circumference of Mars. And gives you an indication of where things are.
This is where Spirit is on the other side of the Gosev (ph) crater. Opportunity is here in the meridian (ph) planum (ph). Three thousand miles separating the two. Opposite sides of the planet. Mars about half the size of Earth.
Let's move into the pictures though, and get people a sense of what has people so excited. These are images from the so-called dimes (ph) cameras. Which are mounted on the spacecraft as it comes in. And as you watch that crater as we get closer to the surface -- and I want to point out one thing, this is kind of a fun thing to show. That is the shadow from the parachute.
Where on this image Matt, do we think Opportunity is?
GOLOMBECK: We think we're somewhere down in this southern part. But we don't know exactly where yet. Somewhere down in here. And we're looking for a likely 20-meter diameter crater that we appear to be sitting in.
And it's kind of hard to tell because your horizon is pretty darn close to you.
O'BRIEN: It's not as many features as the previous one. So let's move on to the next location. Get us down on the surface here. This is the big wide panorama. And I want to call your attention -- and we will get a close-up shot here in just a moment.
Take a look at the horizon there. That is bedrock. Rock outcropping. And that gets geologists very excited right?
GOLOMBECK: Yes, rock in place is what we really want. Because we can get stratigraphy (ph), we can tell what's older, what's younger. We can look at intact layers that are in that, whether it's a sedimentary rock, and develop a stratigraphy (ph) and really get at the history of water at this site.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's about all the time that we have. We'd like to get to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) shots, but we'll show those to you another time I guess. Carol, we're live from as close to Mars as you can get.
LIN: You bet. Thanks Miles, very much. In the meantime, we do have some other news to cover. And the stars are lining up in Hollywood, so stay with us through the program for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 25, 2004 - 18:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, in the meantime, we want to head out to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) laboratory. Miles O'Brien standing by there with some new pictures from the mars rovers. Miles, what have you seen so far?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the Opportunity rover is in the absolute ideal location. It's a scientist's dream where it has landed. As a matter of fact, one described it a few moments ago, as a 300 million mile hole in one, inside a crater about 60 feet wide, and six feet deep. It's kind of like one-stop shopping for a scientist.
Really, just about every feature they could hope to explore is in this little depression on the planet Mars. Anything but depression here last night as Opportunity bounced to a landing.
Take a look at some of the pictures from the control room. As word filtered back across 11 minutes of light time to Earth. As the team got the word that it has bounced safely onto the surface, and was beginning the process of unfolding it's pedals, and off to work it went. Ever since, everything has been checking out fine. And the pictures have been streaming back.
With us to talk a little bit about those pictures as is customary, and has been for the past three weeks or so, Matt Golombeck, who is one of the scientists who was very instrumental in choosing the landing sites. He's a happy man today. Very happy not only with the site, but the location within the site. You couldn't ask for a better shot could you?
MATT GOLOMBECK, NASA SCIENTIST: That's right. It's spectacular having that dark plain with probably basaltic (ph) fragments, and that white outcrop on the rim of the crater is a geologist's treasure trove.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's give people quick orientation as to where we are on the planet Mars. This is a map which is a little bit misleading, because it shows the full circumference of Mars. And gives you an indication of where things are.
This is where Spirit is on the other side of the Gosev (ph) crater. Opportunity is here in the meridian (ph) planum (ph). Three thousand miles separating the two. Opposite sides of the planet. Mars about half the size of Earth.
Let's move into the pictures though, and get people a sense of what has people so excited. These are images from the so-called dimes (ph) cameras. Which are mounted on the spacecraft as it comes in. And as you watch that crater as we get closer to the surface -- and I want to point out one thing, this is kind of a fun thing to show. That is the shadow from the parachute.
Where on this image Matt, do we think Opportunity is?
GOLOMBECK: We think we're somewhere down in this southern part. But we don't know exactly where yet. Somewhere down in here. And we're looking for a likely 20-meter diameter crater that we appear to be sitting in.
And it's kind of hard to tell because your horizon is pretty darn close to you.
O'BRIEN: It's not as many features as the previous one. So let's move on to the next location. Get us down on the surface here. This is the big wide panorama. And I want to call your attention -- and we will get a close-up shot here in just a moment.
Take a look at the horizon there. That is bedrock. Rock outcropping. And that gets geologists very excited right?
GOLOMBECK: Yes, rock in place is what we really want. Because we can get stratigraphy (ph), we can tell what's older, what's younger. We can look at intact layers that are in that, whether it's a sedimentary rock, and develop a stratigraphy (ph) and really get at the history of water at this site.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's about all the time that we have. We'd like to get to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) shots, but we'll show those to you another time I guess. Carol, we're live from as close to Mars as you can get.
LIN: You bet. Thanks Miles, very much. In the meantime, we do have some other news to cover. And the stars are lining up in Hollywood, so stay with us through the program for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
