The UA's HiRISE camera team has released the first color images of Mars taken from a NASA craft orbiting the red planet.
The public is invited to see the images, meet the scientists and tour the operation center at Mars Mania II Saturday on campus.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera took four pictures of Mars on March 23 and another four on March 25. The HiRISE team released the first preliminary black and white picture March 24, two weeks after the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully maneuvered its way into orbit.
The test images show both the spacecraft and the camera are working well, said Alfred S. McEwen, a University of Arizona professor leading the camera team.
HiRISE is the most powerful camera ever to leave Earth's orbit and will take 10,000 high-resolution images of Mars during a 25-month mission. The pictures, taken from an orbit of 190 miles, will show unprecedented detail of the Martian surface, with objects 1 meter in size clearly visible.
Tomorrow, the HiRISE team will host Mars Mania II, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Charles P. Sonett Space Sciences Building, 1541 E. University Blvd. McEwen will speak about the camera at 7 p.m. Hands-on activities for children will run from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. Tours of the HiRISE Operations Center will be given hourly from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
