Mars: Exploring the Red Planet
Victoria Crater at Meridiani Planum
This image, taken Oct. 3 from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows Victoria crater. The distinctive scallop shaped crater is approximately half a mile in diameter. Layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the inner wall and boulders that have fallen from the crater wall are visible on the crater floor. The floor of the crater contains a striking field of sand dunes. The Mars Rover Opportunity is located on the crater rim at about 10 o'clock.
The Opportunity Rover at Victoria Crater
This close-up view shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity near the rim of Victoria Crater. Also labeled are Duck Bay, the eroded segment of the crater rim; Cabo Frio, a sharp promontory to the south of Duck Bay; and Cape Verde, another promontory to the north. Opportunity is a small speck on the upper left side, with its wheel tracks in the soil behind it. Scientists plan to drive Opportunity from ridge to ridge, exploring the safest way to drive the rover down.
Superimposed Rover on Rim of Victoria Crater
This artist's rendering superimposes the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rim of Victoria Crater to give a sense of scale.
Victoria Crater from Duck Bay
Opportunity edged closer to the top of the Duck Bay alcove along the rim of Victoria Crater overnight, Sept. 27-28, and gained this vista of the crater. This crater has been the mission's long-term destination for the past 21 Earth months.
Of Craters and Erosion: Opportunity Examines Beagle
This is part of a mosaic of Beagle Crater, an impact crater about 115 feet wide. The images were taken Aug. 6-9, before the Opportunity rover headed to Victoria Crater. The impact crater appears moderately eroded, with slumped walls and ripples of sand in the middle. Scientists will study this image to figure out how the crater eroded.
Artist's Rendition of the Mars Rover
The two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been cruising around the Martian surface since January 2004. Each had a life expectancy of three months. Their primary mission is to examine rocks and soil for clues to past water activity on Mars. The rovers each carry two cameras, a rock abrasion tool (to remove and expose rocks for examination), spectrometers (for identifying rocks and soils) and magnets (for collecting magnetic dust particles).
Artist's Rendition of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
In 2005, NASA launched a powerful scientific orbiter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, capable of imaging the surface at 8-to-12-inch resolution. This mission will analyze the surface in an effort to follow tantalizing hints of water detected in images from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, and to bridge the gap between surface observations and measurements from orbit. The satellite began orbiting Mars in March 2006.
