My Pick of Pic's October 31, 2003 Gusev Crater - Selected MER Landing Site Today's image is a collection of data from numerous instruments on several different space craft. The Viking orbiters provide broad, low resolution images in visible light. Mars Odyssey and the THEMIS instrument make their contribution in the form of medium res, visible and infrared images. High resolution images and the elevation map are products of the Mars Orbiter Camera and MOLA instruments, respectively. These instruments were flown on the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The map has been assembled to provide an overview of the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover - 'Spirit'. Spirit is scheduled to land Jan. 4th, 2004. The oval in the center of the map shows the target landing zone. The landing zone was selected with success-of-mission as its primary criteria, followed very closely by achievement-of-science-objectives. It promises to be a very exciting mission. Mars Exploration Rover Mars Web @ JPL