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Opportunity's Second Martian
…
| title |
Opportunity's Second Martian Birthday at Cape Verde |
| date |
10.20.2007 |
| description |
A promontory nicknamed "Cape Verde" can be seen jutting out from the walls of Victoria Crater in this approximate true-color picture taken by the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The rover took this picture on martian day, or sol, 1329 (Oct. 20, 2007), more than a month after it began descending down the crater walls - and just 9 sols shy of its second Martian birthday on sol 1338 (Oct. 29, 2007). Opportunity landed on the Red Planet on Jan. 25, 2004. That's nearly four years ago on Earth, but only two on Mars because Mars takes longer to travel around the sun than Earth. One Martian year equals 687 Earth days. The overall soft quality of the image, and the "haze" seen in the lower right portion, are the result of scattered light from dust on the front sapphire window of the rover's camera. This view was taken using three panoramic-camera filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell |
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| Description |
Browse Image | Medium Image (129 kB) | Large (20.4 MB) Hi-Res (NASA's Planetary Photojournal) [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08813 ] |
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Superimposed Rover on Rim of
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PIA08814
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Superimposed Rover on Rim of Victoria Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image superimposes an artist's concept of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on the rim of Victoria Crater. It is done to give a sense of scale. |
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Duck Bay, Victoria Crater
PIA10007
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Duck Bay, Victoria Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the view of Victoria Crater from Duck Bay. Opportunity reached Victoria Crater on Sol 951 (September 27, 2006) after traversing 9.28 kilometers (5.77 miles) since her landing site at Eagle Crater. Victoria Crater is roughly 800 meters (one-half mile) wide -- about five times wider than Endurance Crater, and 40 times as wide as Eagle crater. The south face of the 6 meter (20 foot) tall layered Cape Verde promontory can be seen in the left side of the inner crater wall, about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover at the time of the imaging. The north face of the 15 meter (50 foot) tall stack of layered rocks called Cabo Frio can be seen on the right side of the inner crater wall. This mosaic was taken on Sols 952 and 953 (September 28 and 29, 2006). There are 30 separate pointings through 6 different filters at each pointing. This mosaic was generated from Pancam's 753 nm, 535 nm, and 482 nm filters. Four versions are available at full resolution: this approximate true color rendering, a false color [ http://marswatch.astro.cornell.edu/pancam_instrument/duck_bay.html ] stretch to enhance subtle color differences in the scene, a stereo anaglyph [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08784 ], which appears three dimensional when viewed through red-blue glasses [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ], and a black and white version presented as a cylindrical projection [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08783 ] with geometric seam correction. |
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Stretched View Showing 'Vict
…
PIA08446
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' This pair of images from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity served as initial confirmation that the two-year-old rover is within sight of "Victoria Crater," which it has been approaching for more than a year. Engineers on the rover team were unsure whether Opportunity would make it as far as Victoria, but scientists hoped for the chance to study such a large crater with their roving geologist. Victoria Crater is 800 meters (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. When scientists using orbital data calculated that they should be able to detect Victoria's rim in rover images, they scrutinized frames taken in the direction of the crater by the panoramic camera. To positively characterize the subtle horizon profile of the crater and some of the features leading up to it, researchers created a vertically-stretched image (top) from a mosaic of regular frames from the panoramic camera (bottom), taken on Opportunity's 804th Martian day (April 29, 2006). The stretched image makes mild nearby dunes look like more threatening peaks, but that is only a result of the exaggerated vertical dimension. This vertical stretch technique was first applied to Viking Lander 2 panoramas by Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, to help locate the lander with respect to orbiter images. Vertically stretching the image allows features to be more readily identified by the Mars Exploration Rover science team. The bright white dot near the horizon to the right of center (barely visible without labeling or zoom-in) is thought to be a light-toned outcrop on the far wall of the crater, suggesting that the rover can see over the low rim of Victoria. In figure 1, the northeast and southeast rims are labeled in bright green. Finally, the light purple lines and arrow highlight a small crater. |
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Stretched View Showing 'Vict
…
PIA08446
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Stretched View Showing 'Victoria' This pair of images from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity served as initial confirmation that the two-year-old rover is within sight of "Victoria Crater," which it has been approaching for more than a year. Engineers on the rover team were unsure whether Opportunity would make it as far as Victoria, but scientists hoped for the chance to study such a large crater with their roving geologist. Victoria Crater is 800 meters (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. When scientists using orbital data calculated that they should be able to detect Victoria's rim in rover images, they scrutinized frames taken in the direction of the crater by the panoramic camera. To positively characterize the subtle horizon profile of the crater and some of the features leading up to it, researchers created a vertically-stretched image (top) from a mosaic of regular frames from the panoramic camera (bottom), taken on Opportunity's 804th Martian day (April 29, 2006). The stretched image makes mild nearby dunes look like more threatening peaks, but that is only a result of the exaggerated vertical dimension. This vertical stretch technique was first applied to Viking Lander 2 panoramas by Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, to help locate the lander with respect to orbiter images. Vertically stretching the image allows features to be more readily identified by the Mars Exploration Rover science team. The bright white dot near the horizon to the right of center (barely visible without labeling or zoom-in) is thought to be a light-toned outcrop on the far wall of the crater, suggesting that the rover can see over the low rim of Victoria. In figure 1, the northeast and southeast rims are labeled in bright green. Finally, the light purple lines and arrow highlight a small crater. |
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Cobbles in Troughs Between M
…
PIA08466
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Cobbles in Troughs Between Meridiani Ripples (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to traverse from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the rover navigates along exposures of bedrock between large, wind-blown ripples. Along the way, scientists have been studying fields of cobbles that sometimes appear on trough floors between ripples. They have also been studying the banding patterns seen in large ripples. This view, obtained by Opportunity's panoramic camera on the rover's 802nd Martian day (sol) of exploration (April 27, 2006), is a mosaic spanning about 30 degrees. It shows a field of cobbles nestled among wind-driven ripples that are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) high. The origin of cobble fields like this one is unknown. The cobbles may be a lag of coarser material left behind from one or more soil deposits whose finer particles have blown away. The cobbles may be eroded fragments of meteoritic material, secondary ejecta of Mars rock thrown here from craters elsewhere on the surface, weathering remnants of locally-derived bedrock, or a mixture of these. Scientists will use the panoramic camera's multiple filters to study the rock types, variability and origins of the cobbles. This is a false-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. The false color is used to enhance differences between types of materials in the rocks and soil. |
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Cobbles in Troughs Between M
…
PIA08467
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Cobbles in Troughs Between Meridiani Ripples |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to traverse from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the rover navigates along exposures of bedrock between large, wind-blown ripples. Along the way, scientists have been studying fields of cobbles that sometimes appear on trough floors between ripples. They have also been studying the banding patterns seen in large ripples. This view, obtained by Opportunity's panoramic camera on the rover's 802nd Martian day (sol) of exploration (April 27, 2006), is a mosaic spanning about 30 degrees. It shows a field of cobbles nestled among wind-driven ripples that are about 20 centimeters (8 inches) high. The origin of cobble fields like this one is unknown. The cobbles may be a lag of coarser material left behind from one or more soil deposits whose finer particles have blown away. The cobbles may be eroded fragments of meteoritic material, secondary ejecta of Mars rock thrown here from craters elsewhere on the surface, weathering remnants of locally-derived bedrock, or a mixture of these. Scientists will use the panoramic camera's multiple filters to study the rock types, variability and origins of the cobbles. This is an approximately true-color rendering that combines separate images taken through the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. |
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Dust Storm Time Lapse Shows
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PIA09935
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Dust Storm Time Lapse Shows Opportunity's Skies Darken |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Dust Storm Time Lapse Shows Opportunity's Skies Darken NASA's Opportunity rover is literally seeing some of its darkest days. Both Mars Exploration Rovers have been riding out a regional dust storm for several weeks. Conditions became particularly dreary in the Meridiani Planum region where Opportunity sits, perched on the edge of "Victoria Crater." This image is a time-lapse composite where each horizon-survey image has been compressed horizontally (but not vertically) to emphasize the sky. The relative brightness and darkness of the sky from sol to sol (over a 30-sol period beginning June 14, 2007) is depicted accurately in these images, which view roughly the same part of the plains southwest of the rover. The images are approximately true color composites, generated from calibrated radiance data files using the panoramic camera's 601-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 482-nanometer filters. The rovers' atmospheric science team is concerned that smaller, regional dust storms could expand into a larger, globe-encircling storm. That could extend the time the sun stays obscured, challenging the capability of Opportunity's solar panels to produce enough electricity for the rover to function. Fortunately, as of July 19, 2007, the Opportunity site is clearing slightly. When the storm ends, atmospheric scientists hope to review data from the rovers that will help them determine what sort of dust was being lifted and distributed. The numbers across the top of the image report a measurement of atmospheric opacity, called by the Greek letter tau. The lower the number, the clearer the sky. Both Opportunity and Spirit have been recording higher tau measurements in July 2007 than they had seen any time previously in their three and a half years on Mars. The five sol numbers across the bottom correspond (left to right) to June 14, June 30, July 5, July 13 and July 15, 2007. |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (
…
PIA09103
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). It is presented in false color to emphasize differences among materials in the rocks and soils. |
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Panorama from 'Cape Verde'
PIA09104
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Panorama from 'Cape Verde' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006). The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover. The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was photographing Cape Verde's rock layers. The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away, toward the southeast. This approximately true-color view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). |
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Rolling into Victoria Crater
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PIA09688
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Rolling into Victoria Crater (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a simulated rover descending into Victoria Crater via the rock-paved slopes of an alcove informally named "Duck Bay." NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is expected to make a similar drive in early July 2007, on its way to examine older rocks deeper in the crater that might hold clues to Mars' wet past. The actual rover travels much more slowly and will make the trip in short segments, rather than in one long drive. Duck Bay has slopes of about 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock, making it the safest site for Opportunity to enter the crater. This movie is based on data taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Rolling into Victoria Crater
…
PIA09688
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Rolling into Victoria Crater (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a simulated rover descending into Victoria Crater via the rock-paved slopes of an alcove informally named "Duck Bay." NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is expected to make a similar drive in early July 2007, on its way to examine older rocks deeper in the crater that might hold clues to Mars' wet past. The actual rover travels much more slowly and will make the trip in short segments, rather than in one long drive. Duck Bay has slopes of about 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock, making it the safest site for Opportunity to enter the crater. This movie is based on data taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Surveying the Scene Above Op
…
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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Surveying the Scene Above Op
…
PIA09687
Sol (our sun)
HiRISE, Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Surveying the Scene Above Opportunity (Simulation) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image to view the animation""Lower resolution animation This animation shows a hypothetical flyover above Victoria Crater, where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is perched on a rim. The rover is expected to begin rolling down into the crater in early July 2007. The first part of the movie is based on data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. A simulated rover is shown at the site where Opportunity will enter the crater, an alcove nicknamed "Duck Bay." The movie then transitions to a panoramic view of Victoria Crater taken from the top of Duck Bay by Opportunity's panoramic camera. |
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View of 'Cape St. Mary' from
…
PIA09085
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape St. Mary' from 'Cape Verde' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape St. Mary" from the from the vantage point of "Cape Verde," the next promontory counterclockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape St. Mary combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into a false-color mosaic. Contrast has been adjusted to improve the visibility of details in shaded areas. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. Near the base of the Cape St. Mary cliff are layers with a pattern called "crossbedding," intersecting with each other at angles, rather than parallel to each other. Large-scale crossbedding can result from material being deposited as wind-blown dunes. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 970th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Oct. 16, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. The false color enhances subtle color differences among materials in the rocks and soils of the scene. |
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View of 'Cape Verde' from 'C
…
PIA09086
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape Verde' from 'Cape St. Mary' in Late Morning (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape Verde" from the vantage point of "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape Verde combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into a false-color mosaic. The exposures were taken during late-morning lighting conditions. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 1,006th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Nov. 22, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. The false color enhances subtle color differences among materials in the rocks and soils of the scene. |
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View of 'Cape St. Mary' from
…
PIA09082
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape St. Mary' from 'Cape Verde' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape St. Mary" from the from the vantage point of "Cape Verde," the next promontory counterclockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape St. Mary combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into an approximately true-color mosaic. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. Near the base of the Cape St. Mary cliff are layers with a pattern called "crossbedding," intersecting with each other at angles, rather than parallel to each other. Large-scale crossbedding can result from material being deposited as wind-blown dunes. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 970th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Oct. 16, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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View of 'Cape Verde' from 'C
…
PIA09078
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape Verde' from 'Cape St. Mary' in Mid-Afternoon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape Verde" from the vantage point of "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape Verde combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into an approximately true-color mosaic. The exposures were taken during mid-afternoon lighting conditions. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 1,006th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Nov. 22, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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View of 'Cape Verde' from 'C
…
PIA09079
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape Verde' from 'Cape St. Mary' in Mid-Afternoon (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape Verde" from the vantage point of "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape Verde combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into an approximately false-color mosaic. The exposures were taken during mid-afternoon lighting conditions. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 1,006th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Nov. 22, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. The false color enhances subtle color differences among materials in the rocks and soils of the scene. |
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View of 'Cape St. Mary' from
…
PIA09083
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape St. Mary' from 'Cape Verde' (Altered Contrast) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape St. Mary" from the from the vantage point of "Cape Verde," the next promontory counterclockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape St. Mary combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into an approximately true-color mosaic with contrast adjusted to improve the visibility of details in shaded areas. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. Near the base of the Cape St. Mary cliff are layers with a pattern called "crossbedding," intersecting with each other at angles, rather than parallel to each other. Large-scale crossbedding can result from material being deposited as wind-blown dunes. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 970th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Oct. 16, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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View of 'Cape Verde' from 'C
…
PIA09080
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Cape Verde' from 'Cape St. Mary' in Late Morning |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a promontory called "Cape Verde" from the vantage point of "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory clockwise around the crater's deeply scalloped rim. This view of Cape Verde combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera into an approximately true-color mosaic. The exposures were taken during late-morning lighting conditions. The upper portion of the crater wall contains a jumble of material tossed outward by the impact that excavated the crater. This vertical cross-section through the blanket of ejected material surrounding the crater was exposed by erosion that expanded the crater outward from its original diameter, according to scientists' interpretation of the observations. Below the jumbled material in the upper part of the wall are layers that survive relatively intact from before the crater-causing impact. The images combined into this mosaic were taken during the 1,006th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Nov. 22, 2006). The panoramic camera took them through the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08805
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is a red-blue stereo anaglyph generated from images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08804
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is a red-blue stereo anaglyph generated from images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 430-nanometer filters. |
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Opportunity on 'Cabo Frio' (
…
PIA01292
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity on 'Cabo Frio' (Simulated) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image superimposes an artist's concept of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity atop the 'Cabo Frio' promontory on the rim of 'Victoria Crater' in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. It is done to give a sense of scale. The underlying image was taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera during the rover's 952nd Martian day, or sol (Sept. 28, 2006). This synthetic image of NASA's Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover at Victoria Crater was produced using "Virtual Presence in Space" technology. Developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., this technology combines visualization and image processing tools with Hollywood-style special effects. The image was created using a photorealistic model of the rover and an approximately full-color mosaic. |
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View of 'Bottomless Bay' on
…
PIA09084
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Bottomless Bay' on Rim of 'Victoria' (Altered Contrast) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a section of the scalloped rim called "Bottomless Bay" (or "Bahia sin Fondo"). This view shows the northeastern side of Bottomless Bay as seen from the southwest. The exposures combined into this mosaic were taken by the rover's panoramic camera through a 750-nanometer filter during the 1,019th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Dec. 5, 2006). Contrast has been altered to improve the visibility of details in shadowed areas. |
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View of 'Bottomless Bay' on
…
PIA09081
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
View of 'Bottomless Bay' on Rim of 'Victoria' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As part of its investigation of "Victoria Crater," NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity examined a section of the scalloped rim called "Bottomless Bay" (or "Bahia sin Fondo"). This view shows the northeastern side of Bottomless Bay as seen from the southwest. The exposures combined into this mosaic were taken by the rover's panoramic camera through a 750-nanometer filter during the 1,019th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's Mars-surface mission (Dec. 5, 2006). |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08809
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is an approximately true color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08807
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is an approximately true color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08808
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is an enhanced false color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Vi
…
PIA08806
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cabo Frio' in 'Victoria Crater' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of "Victoria crater" is looking southeast from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cabo Frio." The small crater in the right foreground, informally known as "Sputnik", is about 20 meters (about 65 feet) away from the rover, the tip of the spectacular, layered, Cabo Frio promontory itself is about 200 meters (about 650 feet) away from the rover, and the exposed rock layers are about 15 meters (about 50 feet) tall. This is an enhanced false color rendering of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'V
…
PIA08810
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Layers of 'Cape Verde' in 'Victoria Crater' (Enhanced) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This view of Victoria crater is looking north from "Duck Bay" towards the dramatic promontory called "Cape Verde." The dramatic cliff of layered rocks is about 50 meters (about 165 feet) away from the rover and is about 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall. The taller promontory beyond that is about 100 meters (about 325 feet) away, and the vista beyond that extends away for more than 400 meters (about 1300 feet) into the distance. This is a false color rendering (enhanced to bring out details from within the shadowed regions of the scene) of images taken by the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity during the rover's 952nd sol, or Martian day, (Sept. 28, 2006) using the camera's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer filters. |
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Paved Path for Opportunity
PIA08084
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Paved Path for Opportunity |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues a southward trek from "Erebus Crater" toward "Victoria Crater," the terrain consists of large sand ripples and patches of flat-lying rock outcrops, as shown in this image. Whenever possible, rover planners keep Opportunity on the "pavement" for best mobility. This false-color image mosaic was assembled using images acquired by the panoramic camera on Opportunity's 784th sol (April 8, 2006) at about 11:45 a.m. local solar time. The camera used its 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer and 432-nanometer filters. This view shows a portion of the outcrop named "Bosque," including rover wheel tracks, fractured and finely-layered outcrop rocks and smaller, dark cobbles littered across the surface. |
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Stretched View Showing 'Beag
…
PIA08565
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Stretched View Showing 'Beagle Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 This imagery from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the outcrop-rimmed "Beagle Crater" appearing on the horizon as Opportunity approaches it. The top version is vertically stretched to make horizon details easier to see. The lower version has normal proportions. The image is a mosaic of frames taken during Opportunity's 855th Martian day, or sol (June 20, 2006). Beagle Crater is 35 meters (115 feet) in diameter. The Opportunity science and engineering teams hope to have the rover visit it on the way to "Victoria Crater." Beagle Crater was 310 meters (1,107 feet) away from Opportunity when this picture was taken. Even at this distance, blocks of ejecta can be seen around the prominent, raised rim of Beagle crater, suggesting that it may be among the youngest craters visited by Opportunity. When scientists using orbital data calculated that they should be able to detect Victoria's rim in rover images, they scrutinized frames taken in the direction of the crater by the panoramic camera. To positively characterize the subtle horizon profile of the crater and some of the features leading up to it, researchers created this vertically-stretched image (top). The stretched image makes mild nearby dunes look like more threatening peaks, but that is only a result of the exaggerated vertical dimension. This vertical stretch technique was first applied to Viking Lander 2 panoramas by Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, to help locate the lander with respect to orbiter images. Vertically stretching the image allows features to be more readily identified by the Mars Exploration Rover science team. The bright white dot on the horizon near the upper left corner of the panorama, labeled "Outcrop Promontory," was thought to be a light-toned outcrop on the far wall of Victoria, based on a single azimuth measurement on sol 804 (April 28, 2006), suggesting that the rover was seeing over the low rim of Victoria. But comparing the azimuth angle of this feature in the sol 855 panorama and the angle of the same feature in the sol 804 panoramic image, PIA08447 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08447 ] (a process known as triangulation) revealed that this outcrop must instead be on the near rim of the crater. The southeast rim of Victoria is labeled in bright green. The northeast rim is beyond the left edge of this panorama. The salmon-color lines and arrows highlight two small craters on the dark "annulus," or ring, around Victoria Crater. |
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Stretched View Showing 'Beag
…
PIA08565
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Stretched View Showing 'Beagle Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 This imagery from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the outcrop-rimmed "Beagle Crater" appearing on the horizon as Opportunity approaches it. The top version is vertically stretched to make horizon details easier to see. The lower version has normal proportions. The image is a mosaic of frames taken during Opportunity's 855th Martian day, or sol (June 20, 2006). Beagle Crater is 35 meters (115 feet) in diameter. The Opportunity science and engineering teams hope to have the rover visit it on the way to "Victoria Crater." Beagle Crater was 310 meters (1,107 feet) away from Opportunity when this picture was taken. Even at this distance, blocks of ejecta can be seen around the prominent, raised rim of Beagle crater, suggesting that it may be among the youngest craters visited by Opportunity. When scientists using orbital data calculated that they should be able to detect Victoria's rim in rover images, they scrutinized frames taken in the direction of the crater by the panoramic camera. To positively characterize the subtle horizon profile of the crater and some of the features leading up to it, researchers created this vertically-stretched image (top). The stretched image makes mild nearby dunes look like more threatening peaks, but that is only a result of the exaggerated vertical dimension. This vertical stretch technique was first applied to Viking Lander 2 panoramas by Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, to help locate the lander with respect to orbiter images. Vertically stretching the image allows features to be more readily identified by the Mars Exploration Rover science team. The bright white dot on the horizon near the upper left corner of the panorama, labeled "Outcrop Promontory," was thought to be a light-toned outcrop on the far wall of Victoria, based on a single azimuth measurement on sol 804 (April 28, 2006), suggesting that the rover was seeing over the low rim of Victoria. But comparing the azimuth angle of this feature in the sol 855 panorama and the angle of the same feature in the sol 804 panoramic image, PIA08447 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08447 ] (a process known as triangulation) revealed that this outcrop must instead be on the near rim of the crater. The southeast rim of Victoria is labeled in bright green. The northeast rim is beyond the left edge of this panorama. The salmon-color lines and arrows highlight two small craters on the dark "annulus," or ring, around Victoria Crater. |
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Opportunity Takes a Last Loo
…
PIA08700
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity Takes a Last Look at Rock Exposure Before Heading to 'Victoria Crater' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recently stopped to analyze an exposure of rock near "Beagle Crater," on a target nicknamed "Baltra." Nearly 100 sols, or Martian days, had passed since Opportunity had last analyzed one of the now-familiar rock exposures seen on the Plains of Meridiani. The rover ground a 3-millimeter-deep (0.12-inch-deep) hole in the rock using the rock abrasion tool on sol 893 (July 29, 2006) while stationed about 25 meters (82 feet) from the southwest rim of Beagle Crater. Scientists wanted to analyze the outcrop one more time before driving the rover onto the ring of smooth material surrounding "Victoria Crater." Opportunity's analysis showed the rock to be very similar in its elemental composition to other exposures encountered during the rover's southward trek across Meridiani Planum. Opportunity acquired the image data shown here shortly after noon on Mars on sol 896 (Aug. 1, 2006) with the panoramic camera (Pancam), after backing up 1 meter (3.3 feet) from Baltra to assure that the target was in sunlight. This is an approximately true-color Pancam image, generated from mathematical combinations of calibrated left-eye images using filters ranging from 432-nanometer to 753-nanometer wavelengths. |
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Opportunity Takes a Last Loo
…
PIA08699
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity Takes a Last Look at Rock Exposure Before Heading to 'Victoria Crater' (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recently stopped to analyze an exposure of rock near "Beagle Crater," on a target nicknamed "Baltra." Nearly 100 sols, or Martian days, had passed since Opportunity had last analyzed one of the now-familiar rock exposures seen on the Plains of Meridiani. The rover ground a 3-millimeter-deep (0.12-inch-deep) hole in the rock using the rock abrasion tool on sol 893 (July 29, 2006) while stationed about 25 meters (82 feet) from the southwest rim of Beagle Crater. Scientists wanted to analyze the outcrop one more time before driving the rover onto the ring of smooth material surrounding "Victoria Crater." Opportunity's analysis showed the rock to be very similar in its elemental composition to other exposures encountered during the rover's southward trek across Meridiani Planum. Opportunity acquired the image data shown here shortly after noon on Mars on sol 896 (Aug. 1, 2006) with the panoramic camera (Pancam), after backing up 1 meter (3.3 feet) from Baltra to assure that the target was in sunlight. This is a false-color image, made using the Pancam's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. The false color emphasizes differences in rock and soil materials. |
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Opportunity Takes a Last Loo
…
PIA08701
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Opportunity Takes a Last Look at Rock Exposure Before Heading to 'Victoria Crater'(Microscopic Imager View) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recently stopped to analyze an exposure of rock near "Beagle Crater," on a target nicknamed "Baltra." Nearly 100 sols, or Martian days, had passed since Opportunity had last analyzed one of the now-familiar rock exposures seen on the Plains of Meridiani. The rover ground a 3-millimeter-deep (0.12-inch-deep) hole in the rock using the rock abrasion tool on sol 893 (July 29, 2006) while stationed about 25 meters (82 feet) from the southwest rim of Beagle Crater. Scientists wanted to analyze the outcrop one more time before driving the rover onto the ring of smooth material surrounding "Victoria Crater." Opportunity's analysis showed the rock to be very similar in its elemental composition to other exposures encountered during the rover's southward trek across Meridiani Planum. Opportunity's microscopic imager acquired this view on sol 894 (July 30, 2006) while the target was fully shadowed. The view shows an area about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) across, just spanning the diameter of the hole ground into Baltra. The image resolution of 30 microns per pixel makes it possible to see features as small as 0.1 millimeter (0.004 inch). |
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Pancam Peek into 'Victoria C
…
PIA08776
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Pancam Peek into 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 Right-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 A drive of about 60 meters (about 200 feet) on the 943rd Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's exploration of Mars' Meridiani Planum region (Sept. 18, 2006) brought the NASA rover to within about 50 meters (about 160 feet) of the rim of "Victoria Crater." This crater has been the mission's long-term destination for the past 21 Earth months. Opportunity reached a location from which the cameras on top of the rover's mast could begin to see into the interior of Victoria. This stereo anaglyph was made from frames taken on sol 943 by the panoramic camera (Pancam) to offer a three-dimensional view when seen through red-blue glasses. It shows the upper portion of interior crater walls facing toward Opportunity from up to about 850 meters (half a mile) away. The amount of vertical relief visible at the top of the interior walls from this angle is about 15 meters (about 50 feet). The exposures were taken through a Pancam filter selecting wavelengths centered on 750 nanometers. Victoria Crater is about five times wider than "Endurance Crater," which Opportunity spent six months examining in 2004, and about 40 times wider than "Eagle Crater," where Opportunity first landed. The great lure of Victoria is the expectation that a thick stack of geological layers will be exposed in the crater walls, potentially several times the thickness that was previously studied at Endurance and therefore, potentially preserving several times the historical record. |
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Pancam Peek into 'Victoria C
…
PIA08776
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Pancam Peek into 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 Right-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 A drive of about 60 meters (about 200 feet) on the 943rd Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's exploration of Mars' Meridiani Planum region (Sept. 18, 2006) brought the NASA rover to within about 50 meters (about 160 feet) of the rim of "Victoria Crater." This crater has been the mission's long-term destination for the past 21 Earth months. Opportunity reached a location from which the cameras on top of the rover's mast could begin to see into the interior of Victoria. This stereo anaglyph was made from frames taken on sol 943 by the panoramic camera (Pancam) to offer a three-dimensional view when seen through red-blue glasses. It shows the upper portion of interior crater walls facing toward Opportunity from up to about 850 meters (half a mile) away. The amount of vertical relief visible at the top of the interior walls from this angle is about 15 meters (about 50 feet). The exposures were taken through a Pancam filter selecting wavelengths centered on 750 nanometers. Victoria Crater is about five times wider than "Endurance Crater," which Opportunity spent six months examining in 2004, and about 40 times wider than "Eagle Crater," where Opportunity first landed. The great lure of Victoria is the expectation that a thick stack of geological layers will be exposed in the crater walls, potentially several times the thickness that was previously studied at Endurance and therefore, potentially preserving several times the historical record. |
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Pancam Peek into 'Victoria C
…
PIA08776
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Pancam Peek into 'Victoria Crater' (Stereo) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Left-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 Right-eye view of a stereo pair for PIA08776 A drive of about 60 meters (about 200 feet) on the 943rd Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's exploration of Mars' Meridiani Planum region (Sept. 18, 2006) brought the NASA rover to within about 50 meters (about 160 feet) of the rim of "Victoria Crater." This crater has been the mission's long-term destination for the past 21 Earth months. Opportunity reached a location from which the cameras on top of the rover's mast could begin to see into the interior of Victoria. This stereo anaglyph was made from frames taken on sol 943 by the panoramic camera (Pancam) to offer a three-dimensional view when seen through red-blue glasses. It shows the upper portion of interior crater walls facing toward Opportunity from up to about 850 meters (half a mile) away. The amount of vertical relief visible at the top of the interior walls from this angle is about 15 meters (about 50 feet). The exposures were taken through a Pancam filter selecting wavelengths centered on 750 nanometers. Victoria Crater is about five times wider than "Endurance Crater," which Opportunity spent six months examining in 2004, and about 40 times wider than "Eagle Crater," where Opportunity first landed. The great lure of Victoria is the expectation that a thick stack of geological layers will be exposed in the crater walls, potentially several times the thickness that was previously studied at Endurance and therefore, potentially preserving several times the historical record. |
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Band of Bright Rock (False C
…
PIA09695
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Band of Bright Rock (False Color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Cape St. Vincent," one of the many promontories that jut out from the walls of Victoria Crater, Mars. The material at the top of the promontory consists of loose, jumbled rock, then a bit further down into the crater, abruptly transitions to solid bedrock. This transition point is marked by a bright band of rock, visible around the entire crater. Scientists say this bright band represents what used to be the surface of Mars just before an impact formed Victoria Crater. After Opportunity begins to descend into the crater in early July 2007, it will examine the band carefully at an accessible location with a gentle slope. These investigations might help determine if the band's brighter appearance is the result of ancient interactions with the Martian atmosphere. This image was taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera on sol 1167 (May 6, 2007). It is presented in false color to accentuate differences in surface materials. |
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Band at Duck Bay
PIA09693
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Band at Duck Bay |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows "Duck Bay," an alcove in the rim of Victoria Crater. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will roll down the slopes of Duck Bay in early July 2007 and investigate the rocks inside the crater. One of its first targets will be the bright band of bedrock seen here lining the upper portion of the crater walls. This band appears to be unlike anything encountered before at Opportunity's landing site. Scientists say it marks the spot where the ground surface used to lie just before an impact formed Victoria Crater. Future investigations with Opportunity might help determine whether the band's brighter appearance is the result of ancient interactions with the Martian atmosphere. This false-color view, taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera, was previously released as part of a larger picture (see PIA09103 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09103 ]). |
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Band of Bright Rock
PIA09694
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
Band of Bright Rock |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Cape St. Vincent," one of the many promontories that jut out from the walls of Victoria Crater, Mars. The material at the top of the promontory consists of loose, jumbled rock, then a bit further down into the crater, abruptly transitions to solid bedrock. This transition point is marked by a bright band of rock, visible around the entire crater. Scientists say this bright band represents what used to be the surface of Mars before it was impacted to form Victoria Crater. As Opportunity begins to descend into the crater in early July 2007, it will examine the band carefully at an accessible location with a gentle slope. These investigations might help determine if the band's brighter appearance is the result of ancient interactions with the Martian atmosphere. This image was taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera on sol 1167 (May 6, 2007). It is presented in approximately true color. |
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On the Rim of 'Erebus'
PIA03270
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
On the Rim of 'Erebus' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for On the Rim of 'Erebus' (QTVR) This is the Opportunity panoramic camera's "Erebus Rim" panorama, acquired on sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ), as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was exploring sand dunes and outcrop rocks in Meridiani Planum. The panorama originally consisted of 635 separate images in four different Pancam filters, and covers 360 degrees of terrain around the rover and the full rover deck. Since the time that this panorama was acquired, and while engineers have been diagnosing and testing Opportunity's robotic arm, the panorama has been expanded to include more than 1,300 images of this terrain through all of the Pancam multispectral filters. It is the largest panorama acquired by either rover during the mission. The panorama shown here is an approximate true-color rendering using Pancam's 750 nanometer, 530 nanometer and 430 nanometer filters. It is presented here as a cylindrical projection. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. This panorama provides the team's highest resolution view yet of the finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow "Erebus" crater. Once the arm diagnostics and testing are completed, the team hopes to explore other layered outcrop rocks at Erebus and then eventually continue southward toward the large crater known as "Victoria." |
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On the Rim of 'Erebus'
PIA03270
Sol (our sun)
Panoramic Camera
| Title |
On the Rim of 'Erebus' |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Click on the image for On the Rim of 'Erebus' (QTVR) This is the Opportunity panoramic camera's "Erebus Rim" panorama, acquired on sols 652 to 663 (Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, 2005 ), as NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was exploring sand dunes and outcrop rocks in Meridiani Planum. The panorama originally consisted of 635 separate images in four different Pancam filters, and covers 360 degrees of terrain around the rover and the full rover deck. Since the time that this panorama was acquired, and while engineers have been diagnosing and testing Opportunity's robotic arm, the panorama has been expanded to include more than 1,300 images of this terrain through all of the Pancam multispectral filters. It is the largest panorama acquired by either rover during the mission. The panorama shown here is an approximate true-color rendering using Pancam's 750 nanometer, 530 nanometer and 430 nanometer filters. It is presented here as a cylindrical projection. Image-to-image seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. This panorama provides the team's highest resolution view yet of the finely-layered outcrop rocks, wind ripples, and small cobbles and grains along the rim of the wide but shallow "Erebus" crater. Once the arm diagnostics and testing are completed, the team hopes to explore other layered outcrop rocks at Erebus and then eventually continue southward toward the large crater known as "Victoria." |
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