At the Edge of Victoria Crater
Explanation:
We're going in.
The
robotic Opportunity rover currently
rolling across
Mars has been
prowling around the edge of the largest crater it has visited since
landing over three years ago.
It has been studying
Victoria crater and looking for a way in.
Now
scientists on Earth
have decided to take a
calculated risk and plan to send Opportunity
right into this ancient
Martian crater over the next few weeks.
Pictured
is Cape St. Vincent, part of the wall of
Victoria Crater
next to where
Opportunity will descend.
The wall itself appears to contain clues about the
Martian terrain before the impact
that created Victoria crater, and so will be
studied during the daring descent.
Above the crater wall, far in the distance, lays a relatively featureless
Martian horizon.
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.
