The USS Wally Schirra

The USS Wally Schirra
A new Navy supply ship, dedicated to Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Wally Schirra, was launched into San Diego Bay on Sunday, March 8, 2009. The Wally Schirra is a 689-foot cargo ship designed to provide ammunition, food, fuel and supplies to other vessels in the fleet. Schirra's widow, Josephine, was in attendance and christened the vessel with a bottle of champagne.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/DC Agle

Mars in 3-D

Mars in 3-D
This first of its kind three-dimensional picture of Mars' north pole, taken in 1999, enables scientists to estimate the volume of its water ice cap with unprecedented precision, and to study its surface variations and the heights of clouds in the region for the first time.

Approximately 2.6 million of laser pulse measurements were assembled into a topographic grid of the north pole with a spatial resolution of 0.6 miles (one kilometer) and a vertical accuracy of 15-90 feet (5-30 meters).

This image was generated the by Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, or MOLA, an instrument that was aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/GSFC

Spirit Soldiers On

The hazard avoidance camera on the front of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image after a drive on the 1,806th Martian day, or sol, (Jan. 31, 2009) of Spirit's mission on the surface of Mars.

The wheel at the bottom right of the image is Spirit's right-front wheel. Because that wheel no longer turns, Spirit drives backwards dragging that wheel. The drive on Sol 1806 covered about 1 foot or 30 centimeters. The rover team had planned a longer drive, but Spirit stopped short, apparently from the right front wheel encountering the partially buried rock visible next to that wheel.

The hazard avoidance cameras on the front and back of the rover provide wide-angle views. The hill on the horizon in the right half of this image is Husband Hill. Spirit reached the hill's summit in 2005.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech