science 07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Mars Rover Peers into Crater, Caught on Satellite Photo
Victoria Crater
After almost three years, the Mars Rover Opportunity has driven 9.28 kilometers from where it landed on Mars to the jagged edge of Victoria Crater, which is pictured above by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover is visible in the higher resolution version of the picture above, as well as this heavily annotated crop of the shot. On the NASA press release page one can find many more pictures, with varying resolutions. Opportunity took some shots of the local scenary, like this non-trivial bluff named Cape Verde that is about a 6-meter drop into the crater.
Cape Verde
The pictures of the general region and the rock layers are supposed to help us understand the history of the planet Mars, advance science, etc., but I’m impressed by the raw beauty of the pictures. All in all, not too shabby for a rover that was only expected to work for 6 months.