PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov


PHOTO CAPTION                 MRPS #80814                                                             
                              July 4, 1997  (Sol 1) 
                              Airbags and Sojourner Rover

     This image from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) camera shows 
the rear part of the Sojourner rover, the rolled-up rear ramp, 
and portions of the partially deflated airbags. The Alpha Proton 
X-ray Spectrometer instrument  is protruding from the rear (right 
side) of the rover. The airbags behind the rover are presently 
blocking the ramp from being safely unfurled. The ramps are a 
pair of deployable metal reels that will provide a track for the 
rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, and onto the surface of 
Mars, once Pathfinder scientists determine it is safe to do so.

     Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-
cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the 
Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, 
Washington, D.C.  

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