Razorbacks in Endurance Crater
Explanation:
Over one year after its launch,
robot geologist Opportunity
has been spending recent sols on Mars
inching its way down the slopes of
Endurance crater.
Littered with
martian blueberries,
some flat rocks within the crater also seem to have
surprising razorbacks -- narrow
slabs sticking up along their edges.
Like the blueberries, it's possible that the sharp, narrow
features are related to water.
They could be
formed by minerals deposited by water in cracks, with
the surrounding softer material subsequently eroded away.
How narrow are they?
The ones pictured here in
an
enhanced color image from
Opportunity's panoramic camera are
actually only a few centimeters high and about half
a centimeter wide.
Impressive 3D
views have been constructed by stereo experimenter
P. Vantuyne based on the camera's left and right eye
images of the region.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
