Mars crater image beamed back by Nasa rover Opportunity

Source: The Observer

Mars crater image beamed back by Nasa rover Opportunity

Conal Urquhart
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 July 2012 23.00 BST

It could be the Sahara or Egypt's Western Desert, but this sand-covered crater is the latest image from Mars.

The picture was taken from US space agency Nasa's Mars exploration rover, Opportunity, close to where the robotic unit spent the winter analysing soil and air samples. The picture shows the explorer's deck and solar panels, tracks it had previously made and a crater that was created by an impact billions of years ago.

-snip-

The image was assembled from 817 component images taken between 21 December 2011, and 8 May 2012, while Opportunity was stationed on an outcrop informally named "Greeley Haven" on the rim of the ancient Endeavour crater.

"The view provides rich geologic context for the detailed chemical and mineral work that the team did at Greeley Haven over the rover's fifth Martian winter, as well as a spectacularly detailed view of the largest impact crater that we've driven to yet with either rover over the course of the mission," said Jim Bell of Arizona State University.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jul/07/mars-crater-image-nasa-opportunity