Spirit Lander and Bonneville Crater in Color

HiRISE has never before imaged the actual lander for the Spirit rover in color, on the west side of Bonneville Crater . The lander is still bright, but with a reddish color, probably due to a dust cover (lower left in the subimage).

A bright spot from a remnant of the heat shield is still visible on the north rim of Bonneville Crater. The backshell and parachute are still bright, but were not captured in the narrow color swath.

The rover itself can still be seen near “home plate” in the Columbia Hills, but there is no obvious sign of rover tracks–erased by the wind.

Written by: Alfred McEwen   (8 February 2012)

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025815_1655

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona