“Spirit” Cover on Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine: 14 November 2005

Rocky Martian High: Spirit Takes the Summit

“Spirit” at the Summit of Husband Hill appears as the Cover image for the 14 November 2005 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine. The highly detailed 6 page cover package, titled "Rocky Martian High", describes the dramatic flight operations of the JPL/Cornell team as Spirit completed work on a
Martian mountaintop: see www.aviationweek.com. The cover photo of Spirit and 2 additional pictures inside (full widescreen view and hazcam of Hillary rock outcrop), were derived by an international team of Mars enthusiasts indicating how outside analysts can use the raw imagery data from the rovers available to everyone.

Forum Members picture credit:

Marco Di Lorenzo (dilo), Doug Ellison (djellison), Bernhard Braun (nirgal) and Kenneth Kremer (mars loon)

View at this link:

www.aviationweek.com

...Long overdue recognition...

Congratulations to all of you.

Very nicely done.

Hi all, this is a little explaination about the AWST cover for the 14 Nov 2005 issue.
Click to view attachment reprinted with permission of Aviation Week
The image is the result of patient, coordinated work from Doug (djellison), Bernhard (Nirgal), Ken (mars loon) and myself.
First inspiration was from the "autocelebration" panorama, a stitch posted by me in this Forum and then colorized by Bernhard.
The original picture is based on 9 NavCam images taken on Sol618, close to the rock outcrop nicknamed "Hillary" at the summit of Husband Hill.
Assembly was initially done with Autostitch and captured the attention of many people due also to the many "hardware" details visible in the foreground.
The portion you are seeng here is only a small part of the complete panorama, re-created by Doug (as he will explain in another post).

Aviation week - even I know that is one well regarded quality publication.
So congratulations all four of you!

WBR
Myran

Unfortunately, I dont have a the words to express the joy of the past few weeks waiting for this - but it's been awesome, particularly with Ken, Bernhard and Marco - all working as a team

It's the 'cheekiest' Navcam mosaic I've seen done - using imagery from Left and Right cameras to 'patch up' where the perspective caused the LGA to 'rip' half way down, but the end result is something we're all proud of.

Cool isnt it

Doug

[quote=djellison,Nov 14 2005, 11:07 AM]
Unfortunately, I dont have a the words to express the joy of the past few weeks waiting for this - but it's been awesome, particularly with Ken, Bernhard and Marco - all working as a team


Yeah ! it has been truely an example of what the concerted internatioanl effort of
us forum members can achieve ;-)



Following is another image (exclusively colorized for the Aviation Week's
story on the Hillary campaign ...



... So if anyone wondered why I havn't posted that much recently,...
I was just too busy with the Aviation Week Project

Fortunately, as a "spin-off" result of this project there are several other images,
(also made for the Aviation Week but not chosen for the final article because of space limitations)
Among them a complement "celebration pan" of Opportunity at Erebus
and other panoramas and colorizations that Marco and I will publish here
in future forum postings ...

:-)

Yeah that's cool!

Very nice work! Glad to see it in a print media.

Awesome work guys, Doug, the LGA looks, well, perfect

What a great example of coöperation for the media!

Nico

Wonderful. It's fantastic that "amateurs" have made to to the cover of a national publication. That cover image has been my Windows wallpaper for several weeks.

Hopefully you all did it for $$ and not "photo credit"; freebies set a bad precedent for the imaging community.

--Bill

That's really cheeky Never done so far. I guess it was also a compromise between horizon and Spirit's left and right solar panels (because of warped shape).

When can you show these pictures and pans here too? You have to wait some time I guess.

Congratulations to all of you.

Well done!

I second that - Congratulations!

Fantastic work. Much kudos to all of you. It makes me, once again, very pleased to be part of this community.

Chris

Yes, yes, congratulations all around! A pat on the shoulder, firm handshake and a round of drinks (if I could)!!

That cover image is a real teeezer When can we see more? I don't think any of the bookstores here carry Aviation Week.

Do we have to wait long? I want to put it on my wall.

Nico

Stunning achievement guys.

Sweet! This certainly deserves a round of Mars Bars!

dilo - Click to view attachment

djellison - Click to view attachment

nirgal - Click to view attachment

mars loon - Click to view attachment


Edit: Ugh, that first attempt looked like crap!! Made the images smaller.

Wow. That is so cool.

Everyone,

What an indescrible joy it has been to work as an international team on a project we all love so dearly. A labor of love over many long nights and weekends.

The power of teamwork is exemplified by my awesome friends Marco, Doug and Bernhard !!!!

We present this to honor the outstanding achievements of the Mars Exploration Rover Team led by the brilliant Principal Investigator Steve Squyres of Cornell University as "Spirit" expanded the envelope in the quest for Science at the Summit of Husband Hill.

check this out on the Aviation Week Magazine free site and view the enlarged pdf

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/chan...ews/11145p1.xml

its time to update your wallpaper

and kudos Doug for creating this forum which brought us all together in a series of incredible incidents !!!!!

ken

Yes, Ken, it was a beautiful cooperation, especially if you consider that was done by people that never meet phisically each other!
This brings me thinking what an incredible privilege we have to live in the computers and Internet epoch, our fathers didn't imagine this amazing possibility to capture images taken by a robot on Mars only few hours ago, elaborate them and share our results inside a virtual meeting room (this great forum), always populated by wonderful, talented and educated people!
I want to express my deep gratitude to all members, especially the ones which stimulated me from the beginning, in order to obtain ever improving results. Masters like Tman, Nico, Phil, Michael and many many others, without you this achievement wouldn't be possible, thrust me!
Hope this is only the beginning, meanwhile I would like to post another version of Sol618 panorama, not published on AWST and very close to the original one posted in this Forum; Bernhard did a great colorization on it and I worked a lot to improve initial result... frankly speaking, I prefere this one and hope someone will choose this as PC wallpaper!

Thanks to everyone, my friends!
Marco
Click to view attachment
EDIT: added full image credits

Great work- nice to see the remarkable talents on this forum get some wider exposure. Congratulations!

Thank you Marco ! I too was thinking of posting something similar ... but you have found *exactly* the right words to express all our feelings about this ...
Nothing more to add , except many happy Smilies:

...

... one for each forum member ;-)

Bernhard (Nirgal)

.
.

GregM: Thanks for adding that perspective. I, for one, wouldn't have appreciated that otherwise.

I find myself looking at that image over and over again, and wondering...How did they do that? It has quite a nice balance of the near and the far. Likewise with the colors.

I'd sure like to hear more about the difficulties encountered in its creation, and how they were overcome.

Fantastic work boys - as usual, I'm in awe of the accumulated skill of this board. It's unusual enough that talent like you have consistently shown for the enthusiasts here get wider recognition, let alone on this level. Brilliant!

Adding my congratulations.

The Front Page shows 30 visitors just now, while usually it has been around 5 - 10 at this time. I would guess the AvWeek cover has brought this forum to a much wider audience.

Well, the site doesnt actually get mentioned (at least I dont think it does) - but Nov 11th was the busiest day in the sites history.

I'm not a big fan of K.C. - but the 'big' image also made it to..
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1075



Doug

Thanks Greg, it seems they abide by their tradition and discover the specialties on the internet as well.

Congrats all around to the unindited co-conspirators!

Hey...

How did you guys dared the impossible (... got you this opportunity)? Was it a request directly from AW&ST?

I don't know if AW&ST is available on newstands, I don't recall seeing it. Is it available as reprints (or single issues)? If not, I wonder if arrangements could be made for UMSF members to obtain a copy?

--Bill

It is hard to find on newsstands, but you may try contacting them via AvWeek website or call to perhaps buy one. If desired, do so quickly before they are out of print. Cover price is $6.

Also, almost every public library in the US has a subscription. Go check it out !!

Got mine in the mail and its stunning. You will love the magazine layout and reproduction. Totally different from the online version.

Also, be sure to read Craigs much longer Mars Rover article from 1 year ago in Nov 2004. Titled "The Real Martians". A must have with the "Lion King Panorama" from Cornell on the cover.

ken

Congrats for this outstanding achievement.
If I may repeat something from an earlier post (bad, bad habit, but just this once..) my ideal would be that the testbed-rover will find its final place one day in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum with your many terrific pans in a multimedia display behind it.

Peter

More on availability of Aviation Week

--Aviation Week & Space Technology is not sold on news stands. It is a subscriber only publication with subscribers in 180 countries. But anyone can order individual copies by calling this toll free number: 800-525-5003.

Just tell them you would like to order the Nov. 14, 2005 issue of Aviation Week.

And the September 12 '05 issue Article 'King of the Hill' by forum member Michael A. Dornheim.

Nico

Nico,

That is one fantastic issue, 2 outstanding stories on space exploration. A collectors edition for sure

your image in that issue, highlighting the crater rims, was incredibly beautiful and an inspiration

and Craig Covault's stunning cover package on the Space Shuttle Return to Flight

ken

I like the fact it's the same magazine. The same people, from the same forum.

Hopefully more teamwork will follow. There's plenty of data

Go UMSF (I'm starting to sound like a cheerleader, I know)

Nico

I didn't know anything on this!!!

Only today visiting the yellow forum Ive read something about it...
It was almost like seing my elder brothers graduate and leaving home...
I'm emotional now...
I love you guys!
A LOT!

Thanks, Ustrax! I want to assure you that we will firmly remain in the forum (we don't leave) and that the cover/article privilege should be spread among all Forum members: as already explained, it would have been impossible without continuous suggestions and encouragement from all you friends (and especially without the MMB tool!!!)

PS: what is the "yellow forum"?

> PS: what is the "yellow forum"?

Click to view attachment

ok, here is the full version of the
colorized "Hillary IDD work" Hazcam image that has also been
published in the Aviation Week as an inside-the-article illustration for
Craig's "Everest / Hillary" Story



(click for full resolution ...)

Thanks Bernhard, its a (extra) beauty! I guess it took a lot of time and you tried hard with it.

Peter

Guys,

I just recieved Aviation Week & Space technology with Spirit on the front cover and a 6 page story of Spirit on the summit of Husband Hill with great images.

Congratulations to dilo, djellison, nirgal and mars loon for their cooperation and great images.

At last the recognition for "amateurs" outside the Rover team.

But let us not forget the Rover team who made this possible by publishing all the images made on Mars.

And the next story in AW&ST, "Opportunity navigating around Erebus".

jvandriel

What I love about these images is that little bit of artistic liberty that allows them to transcend reality while remaining true to it.

It's a bit like the National Geographic magazine photographer that while photographing nature will employ all kinds of lens filters and special films to capture a truly unique image. Is it completely true to reality, well, no, but is it a lie, again no, just enhanced reality, that little bit extra contrast and colour that elicits from us a powerful and resonant emotional response.

And while NASA, as a science agency, has the responsibility to provide us with the most accurate images they are able to based on the available data, you guys here are not under so heavy restraints, and while you too seek to see mars as it is, you present it to us not in dull matt paper but in super glossy superior grade magazine paper stock.

You're our very own National Geographic photographers on Mars, using your photographic mastery to enchant us with beautiful views from another world.

And while I whole heartedly thank NASA for allowing my daily Mars fix, I whole heartedly thank the forum members for making it (even more) amazing.

I just received AWST yesterday at home.
CONGRATULATIONS to Doug, Dilo, Nirgal and Mars loon... !
GREAT, GREAT work !

Kudos all round. Great job guys.

Gonzz, your words are so nice, I absolutely agree!
(and thanks to all, again)

Gonzz/All

Thank you for the insightful commentary and the generous compliments which goes first and foremost to all on the NASA/JPL/Cornell Mars Exploration Rover Team

And thanks to Doug and the forum members for continuing inspiration and sound input

To address you excellent point, please read this excerpt from p. 50 of Craig’s cover package for Aviation Week and Space Technology which includes a quote from Doug

ken

***********************************************************

Reprinted by permission of Aviation Week and Space Technology /Craig Covault

14 Nov 2005

"Among the images taken at the summit is a stunning mosaic of monochromatic rover Navcam images, colorized by outside analysts using JPL/Cornell Pancam Imagery (see www. aviationnow.com). This melding of Navcam and Pancam data is artistically stunning, while not fully scientifically calibrated, says Doug Ellison of Leicester, England, who helped lead the work. It reveals Spirit, amazingly free of dust, sitting atop the rounded crest of the mountain, with views down the slopes to the Gusev crater floor below (see cover and pp. 48-49).

In the picture, rover tracks "jog" by the dark Hillary outcrop that Spirit first passed, then revisited. It was then driven up the slope under the outcrop so instruments on the rover's arm could reach the windblown, dust-free side of the feature. Spirit is now heading down the back side of the range after traveling for most of two years and more than 3 mi. across the floor of Gusev to reach the hills".
***********************************************************

Artistically stunning indeed!

If one thinks of art as a fusion between image and emotion I think that's what we sense from these images, the way we would feel if we were actually standing there, and the way that emotion would influence the way we perceived the view ahead.

Or in other words, I'm not sure if that image portrays what I would see if I was standing there, but I think it portrays the way I would remember it. Memories from Mars? Postcards