Written by Derek Kessler on
Thursday, 02 October 2008
Opportunity, the little rover that could, just recently climbed up out of Victoria Crater on Mars after spending two years studying the large crater Now, its setting a course for a crater 20 times the size of Victoria: Endeavour Crater. Endeavour is eleven km (seven miles) to the southeast of Victoria, a distance equal to the total mileage Opportunity has racked up since landing on Mars in January 2004.
It is entirely possible that Opportunity may not even reach Endeavour Crater, but the Mars Exploration Rovers team believes that this is still the correct course to set. It is worth noting that Opportunity’s original mission was set to last only 90 days (it’s now pushing 1700 days on Mars).
Endeavour Crater is 22 km (13.7 miles) across, larger than any other crater studied by either of the rovers. It is much deeper than Victoria, meaning that if the rover reaches, it will be able to examine much older rock layers than those seen in Victoria and on outcroppings both rovers have encountered across the planet. But getting there is the problem - even if Opportunity manages to travel 100 meters a day, it would take two years for it to reach Endeavour. The trek will be aided by super high-resolution imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that will be used to plot the fastest and easiest path from Victoria to Endeavour.
Opportunity, the little rover that could, just recently climbed up out of Victoria Crater on Mars after spending two years studying the large crater Now, its setting a course for a crater 20 times the size of Victoria: Endeavour Crater. Endeavour is eleven km (seven miles) to the southeast of Victoria, a distance equal to the total mileage Opportunity has racked up since landing on Mars in January 2004.
