NASA Images Old Mars Landers

Iron Sun writes "Scientists have used the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter to capture images of what they think are the Viking 1 and Mars Pathfinder craft sitting on the surface of Mars. I'll have to take their word they are the indistinct blobs in question. The probes were supposedly just below the resolution of Surveyor, but they used a new trick developed last year to squeeze more detail out of the camera. The next target will, of course, be the Spirit rover."

Comments

Re:Beagle?

[nocomment]

Well, since you can't read articles apparently, (hey it wouldn't be slashdot if not for you ;-) NASA say's this technology only works, if you know where it is already. You have to know the landscape and what it looked like _BEFORE_ you can try to figure out which dot is beagle. For example they say they know where the rover is because they parked it next to a rock they named "Yogi". Well they know about where Yogi was, and where all most of the dots were before it landed, therefore they look for the new dots near objoects where they expect it to be. Not even the ESA knows where beagle is, you have to try to pick a dot out of something that _might_ have tumbled down a crater? Fat chance.

That's not random pixel noise ...

[fygment]

... that's my wife. Just kidding.

It's actually Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. Clever bastard! Just kidding.

I worked with imagery analysts in the pre-digital age. You wanted to see a field of camouflaged T-64 tanks in your picture? No problem. Change your mind and want instead to see the Soviet fleet exiting harbour at battle stations? Heck, it could be that too! They'd just change the captions. It was a standing joke. They worked hard and honestly I'm sure, but only they really knew the difference.

When will we send higher-resolution cameras?

[johnjay]

Does anyone know if there are any plans in the works at NASA, ESA, or elsewhere to send higher-resolution orbitting cameras to Mars? I know that the current pictures are by far the most detailed we've ever had, but someone must be thinking of doing better.

They must have have a pretty good idea where the Beagle should be, a good enough camera might at least be able to verify that it's there. (Not that it would matter, but it'd be nice to know...)

Re:"We can find it if we know where it is!"

[zero_offset]

Says here the MRO will have 20-30cm resolution...