 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Opportunity Studies Cobbles And Rock Exposures Around 'Victoria Crater'
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jan 22, 2007 Opportunity continues to make progress in acquiring long-baseline stereo images of "Victoria Crater." To do this, the rover moves laterally from one point to another between taking images with the left and right eyes of the panoramic camera. The path separating the images is known as a baseline and increases the apparent visual depth of features in the terrain. During the past week, Opportunity drove across "Cabo Anonimo," a promontory on the northwest edge of Victoria Crater. From there, Opportunity took images of a face of "Cape Desire," the next promontory clockwise around the crater rim, on the other side of the "Bay of Toil." Opportunity then proceeded around the Bay of Toil on the way to Cape Desire. Opportunity was scheduled to take a picture of comet McNaught on the morning of the rover's 1,063rd sol, or Martian day, of Mars exploration (Jan. 20, 2007). In addition to daily observations that included measuring atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera, searching for clouds with the navigation camera, surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and imaging the sky with the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed the following activities: Sol 1057 (Jan. 13, 2007): Opportunity measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer and surveyed surface targets known as "Pacific," "Pacifico," and "Straight" using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Sol 1058: Opportunity drove across Cabo Anonimo to the rim overlooking the Bay of Toil. Sol 1059: Opportunity completed standard remote sensing activities. Sol 1060: Opportunity acquired the first half of the long-baseline stereo pair of the Bay of Toil using the panoramic camera. The rover then drove 2 meters (7 feet) to get into position to acquire the second half of the baseline stereo pair. Sol 1061: Opportunity acquired the second half of the baseline stereo pair of panoramic camera images, then proceeded driving around the Bay of Toil. Sol 1062 (Jan. 18, 2007): Opportunity acquired panoramic camera images of a rock outcrop known as "Guam," exposed on the plains above the rim of Victoria Crater. The camera also photographed cobbles "Gallego," "Vasco" and "Gomes" along the rim. Opportunity acquired miniature thermal emission spectrometer data on Gallego, the soil next to Gallego, and Vasco. Plans called for Opportunity to take snapshots of comet McNaught the next morning. Odometry: As of sol 1061 (Jan. 17, 2007), Opportunity's total odometry was 9,840 meters (6.1 miles). Related Links Mars Rovers Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Opportunity Finds Another Meteorite
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jan 15, 2007After wrapping up scientific studies of a rock called "Santa Catarina" on the rim of "Victoria Crater," Opportunity determined, based on analysis of the iron content, that the rock is probably a meteorite. Nearby cobbles appear to have similar composition, based on data from the Moessbauer spectrometer, panoramic camera, and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Opportunity's itinerary will now take the rover in a northeasterly direction toward the crater's edge for a better look at the west face of "Cape Desire," on the other side of the "Bay of Toil." |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
