APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
White Boat Rock on Mars
Explanation: What caused this rock to have an unusual shape? Earlier this month the robot Spirit rover on Mars stopped to examine a rock dubbed “white boat”, named for its unusually light color and shape. White boat, the large rock near the image center of the above color-composite image , was examined by Spirit just after Adirondack , a football-sized rock determined to be composed of volcanic basalt . Spirit resumed scientific operations two weeks ago after recovering from a computer memory problem . Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity , on the other side of Mars, continue to roam the red planet in search of clues to the ancient past of Earth's most hospitable neighbor .
| Date | February 25, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission , JPL , NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |



