Mars Opportunity Anomalies and Maps
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ZR-TraverseMap-PIA03616-1.jpgOpportunity Traverse Map: let's go to Victoria!106 visiteOriginal caption:"This image shows the route that Opportunity had driven through its 659th Martian day, or Sol, (Dec. 1, 2005) relative to the potential destination of "Victoria Crater" farther South. The base image is a portion of a mosaic (previously released as PIA07506) combining images from the Mars Observer Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter, the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter and Opportunity's own Descent Image Motion Estimation System. The scale bar at lower right is 800 mt (about one-half of a mile)".
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ZS-PIA03609_fig1-2.jpgOpportunity Traverse Map: up to Erebus Crater (annotated)110 visiteOriginal caption:"This image shows the route that Opportunity has taken from its landing site inside Eagle Crater to its position on its 656th Sol (such as Nov. 27, 2005) at the edge of Erebus Crater. The base image is a portion of a mosaic (previously released as PIA07506) combining images from the Mars Observer Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and Opportunity's own Descent Image Motion Estimation System. The scale bar at lower right is 800 mt (about one-half of a mile).
As of Sol 656, Opportunity had driven a total of 6.502 meters (about 4,04 miles)".
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ZT-Opp-Path-R1400021R22640MERBannot-1.jpgFrom the Landing Site up to Endurance Crater (HR)106 visiteOriginal caption:"It was two years ago that the MER Opportunity landed on Meridiani Planum.
The Rover marked its first Mars-year (equivalent to 687 Earth Days - and therefore 2 Earth years) in December 2005.
In the picture shown here the "key-sites" have been labeled and the colored portion is a 3D stereo-anaglyph which can be viewed using red (left eye) and a blue (right eye) glasses.
During the landing in January 2004, rockets were fired to slow the final descent, just before the inflated airbags (containing the folded-up Lander and Rover) were released. The rockets disturbed the sandy surface at the location labeled "blast effects".
Following release, the airbags bounced and rolled until coming to rest inside Eagle Crater. The Lander, in fact, can be seen as a bright spot near the center of Eagle Crater.
Meanwhile, the jettisoned parachute and backshell landed to the South-West of Eagle while the Heatshield fell just South-West of Endurance Crater".
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ZU-Opp-Path-R1400021R22640MERBannot-2.jpg...and all-the-way to Victoria! (HR)119 visiteOriginal caption:"The MER Opportunity initially examined sedimentary rock outcrops and sandy, windblown regolith within Eagle Crater; then it was driven by the Rover Team out of Eagle Crater and on into Endurance Crater.
By the end of 2004, Opportunity left Endurance and started investigating the site where the Heatshield impacted the surface.
After that, the Rover spent much of the year 2005 driving from the Heatshield location down to the shallow Erebus Crater.
Long-term plans call for driving Opportunity from Erebus to Victoria Crater, where a substantially thicker sequence of layered rock is expected to be found, relative to previous outcrops examined in the craters Endurance and Eagle".
Location near: 2,0°S and 5,6° W
300 mt scale bar = 984 ft
Illumination from: left
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ZV-Victoria Crater_traverse_labels-A810R1_br2.jpgNext Stop: Victoria Crater!122 visiteCaption NASA originale:"This image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor highlights the MER Opportunity's approach toward Victoria Crater.
North is to the left. Opportunity's location at Sol 804 (such as April 29, 2006) is marked, as are the left and right edges of Victoria's rim from the Rover's point of view. The labeled "promontory" is a bright spot that scientists believe is an outcrop on the far side of the crater. Marked in light purple is a small, 35-mt (about 115-foot) crater.
Victoria Crater is 800 mt (nearly half a mile) in diameter, about six times wider than Endurance Crater, where Opportunity spent several months in 2004 examining rock layers affected by ancient water".
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ZW-MERB_914_br2.jpgFrom "Eagle" to "Victoria"...92 visitenessun commento
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ZW-MERB_930_br2.jpgAll the way, until Victoria...89 visiteCaption NASA originale:"The team managing NASA's MER Opportunity had set Victoria Crater as a long-term destination even before the Rover climbed out of Endurance Crater, in December 2004. As of early September 2006, Opportunity has driven more than 7,2 Km (about 4,5 miles) since leaving Endurance and is now approaching Victoria.
Victoria is the large crater near the bottom of this map made from images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The gold line traces Opportunity's path Eastward then Southward from Eagle Crater, where it landed, to Endurance Crater, where it spent six months, and nearly to Victoria. The south end of the line indicates the Opportunity's location as of the Rover's 930th Sol (such as Sept. 5, 2006). Victoria is about 750 mt (approx. 0,47 mile) in diameter, or about six times wider than Endurance and 35 time wider than Eagle. The scale bar at lower right shows the length of 800 meters (about 0,50 mile)".
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ZX-Victoria-PIA08749.jpgVictoria Crater120 visiteCaption NASA originale:"After driving more than 9 Km (about 5,6 miles) from the site where it landed in January 2004, NASA's MER Opportunity approached "Victoria Crater" in September 2006. The crater is about 750 mt (a little less than half a mile) across.
That is about six times wider than "Endurance Crater" where Opportunity spent six months examining in 2004, and about 35 times wider than "Eagle Crater" where Opportunity first landed. The walls of Victoria hold the scientific allure of much taller stacks of geological layers -- providing the record of a longer span of the area's environmental history -- than Opportunity has been able to inspect on the Meridiani plains or at smaller craters.
This image created by the U.S. Geological Survey uses a digital elevation model generated from computer analysis of three images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. The vertical dimension is not exaggerated relative to the horizontal dimensions. The crater is about 70 mt (230 feet) deep.
The images used for providing the stereo information to calculate relative elevation were taken on Feb. 1, 2004 (http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/r10_r15/images/R14/R1401689.html) and April 16, 2005 (http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/s05_s10/images/S05/S0500863.html).
Opportunity is approaching Victoria from North-West".
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ZY-Victoria_Campaign_Traverse-B951R1_br2.jpgVictoria Crater: the Map101 visiteThis image from the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's MGS Spacecraft shows an overview of Victoria Crater and a portion of the area NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has covered to reach the enormous depression.
Images such as this one from the MOC on NASA's MGS are helping scientists and engineers decide the best path for NASA's MER Opportunity as it approaches Victoria Crater.
The blue dot indicates Cape Verde and the red dot Cabo Frio. These two points mark the extent of the crater visible from the Rover's position on its 945th Sol (such as Sept. 20, 2006), a location it had reached two Soles earlier and from which much of this monster depression was still out of sight. The green annotations indicate Duck Bay, a location expected to allow a view to the other side of the crater. A dune, or ripple, is to the left of the crater, right in front of the green dot location.
This is where the team initially talked about sending Opportunity for the rover's first view down into the crater. After further consideration, the team opted for a drive to the right of that ripple (south of the green dot) near the rim.
The yellow lines that surround and intersect Victoria Crater are used to measure the crater and the distance to the far "bays." North is up. Victoria Crater is about 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter.
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ZY-Z-MERB_Sol1162_1.jpgRolling around Victoria: Opportunity Traverse Map from Sol 943 up to Sol 116269 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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ZZ-Z-MERB_Sol1164_1.jpgRolling around Victoria: Opportunity Traverse Map from Sol 943 up to Sol 116462 visiteOpportunity recently completed work on soil exposures North of the rim of Victoria Crater where winds channeled by alcoves have produced alternating light and dark streaks. The MER finished in-situ analyses with measurements at a target known as "Alicante", where there appears to be a concentration of dark sand on the downwind side of a rock, on Sol 1149 (April 18, 2007). Analysis continues of data collected from this and other sites.
In addition, strong winds perhaps associated with channeling caused by the crater's jagged rim may have contributed to deck-cleaning events for Opportunity.
On 2 separate occasions, Soles 1153 (April 22, 2007) and 1158 (April 27, 2007), the solar array power increased significantly. In fact, the power level of 848 watt-hours, reached on Sol 1160 (April 29, 2007), was the highest measured since about Sol 300 (Nov. 26, 2004), early in the mission (note: a "watt-hour" is the amount of power needed to light a 100-watt bulb for 1 hour).
This orbital view was acquired by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.MareKromium
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ZZ-Z-N-JC1-MERB_Traverse_Sol1365.jpg414 Soles around Victoria...64 visiteCaption NASA:"Victoria Crater, about 800 meters (one-half mile) in diameter, has been home ground for NASA's MER Opportunity for more than 14 of the Rover's first 46 months on Mars. This view shows the Rover's path overlaid on an image of the crater taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Opportunity first reached the crater's rim on Sept. 27, 2006, during the 951st Martian Day, or Sol, of the Rover's work in the Meridian Planum Region of Mars.
The Rover then explored clockwise about 1/4th of the way around the rim before returning to a point close to its first overlook.
On the mission's 1293rd Sol (Sept. 13, 2007), Opportunity began a sustained exploration of the interior of the Crater, entering at an alcove called "Duck Bay" on the Western Side of Victoria.
This traverse map includes Opportunity's route through Sol 1365 (such as Nov. 26, 2007). The scale bar is 300 meters (984 feet) long.MareKromium
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