Spirit Rover at Engineering Flats on Mars
Is it art? If so, the paintbrush was the Spirit robotic rover , the canvas was the soil on Mars , and the artists were the scientists and engineers of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. This panoramic picture , created in 2004 and shown above compressed horizontally, was mostly unintentional -- the MERS team was primarily instructing Spirit to investigate rocks in and around Hank's Hollow in a location called Engineering Flats on Mars. After creating the ground display with its treads, the Spirit rover was instructed to photograph the area along with itself in shadow . In 2010 as winter approaches in northern Mars, Spirit, still mired in sand , has been placed in an energy saving “hibernating” mode until spring arrives and more direct sunlight might be used to power the robotic explorer.