Victoria Crater on Mars
Explanation:
Scroll right to see the largest crater yet visited by a rover on Mars.
Reaching the expansive
Victoria Crater
has been a
goal for the
robotic Opportunity rover rolling across
Mars for the past two years.
Victoria crater has about five times the diameter of
Endurance Crater, which Opportunity spent six months
exploring.
Opportunity reached Victoria last year,
and was cautiously probing the edges of the
stadium-sized
crevice while waiting for large
dust storms to clear.
A safe path was found, and
Opportunity has slowly entered into
Victoria Crater.
It is hoped that Victoria Crater will show a
deep stack of layers uncovered by
the initial impact,
and hence new clues into the ancient surface history of Mars.
Visible in the distance in the
above mosaic
is the far rim of Victoria Crater, lying about 800 meters away and rising about
70 meters above the crater floor.
The alcove in front has been dubbed
Duck Bay.
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
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rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
