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Spotlight On Mars - Image
The Road Not Traveled
November 20, 2008
The first panorama is a black-and-white mosaic of navigation-camera images, adjusted to remove curvature from the view as the rover sweeps the camera from side to side, showing a vast sea of sandy ripples stretching all the way to the flat horizon. The ripples dominate the terrain to the east and southeast. At the bottom of the panorama, the front edge of the rover's solar array and the top of its robotic arm are visible. Rays of sunlight stream into the view from the upper right corner.
The second panorama is a black-and-white mosaic of panoramic-camera images showing the terrain to the south and southwest. Here, the sea of sand ripples is divided by parallel lanes of flat-lying rocks. The lanes stretch away vertically from the bottom of the panorama, aligned side by side with the ripples. In places, the rocky pavement disappears beneath ripples that are oriented horizontally rather than vertically and essentially form a barrier perpendicular to the other ripples.
The final panorama shows Opportunity's last look back at 'Victoria Crater.' The rover's twin wheel tracks fade away in the distance until they veer left, marking the place where Opportunity left the crater's rim and turned south.


Each day, Opportunity picks a route through two kinds of Martian terrain -- one hard and smooth, the other soft and sandy. Paving the way are flat-lying rocks formed long ago with help from liquid water. Threatening to bury the rover's wheels are waves upon waves of sand ripples. Both features fill the region that separates the Mars rover from Endeavour Crater.

In recent weeks, Opportunity has been putting the pedal to the metal. Since leaving "Victoria Crater," Opportunity has driven almost a mile. Ahead are more miles of similar terrain and interesting things to see. Scientists expect to encounter younger rocks the farther south the rover travels. They expect to find small rocks ejected onto the landscape when nearby craters were formed. To reach all these things, the rover must avoid sand traps as much as possible, making the rippled terrain the road not traveled.

Mars Exploration Rover Navigation Camera
Mars Exploration Rover Panoramic Camera

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

Higher Res Images:
  This first panorama is a black-and-white mosaic of navigation-camera images, adjusted to remove curvature from the view as the rover sweeps the camera from side to side, showing a vast sea of sandy ripples stretching all the way to the flat horizon. The ripples dominate the terrain to the east and southeast. At the bottom of the panorama, the front edge of the rover's solar array and the top of its robotic arm are visible. Rays of sunlight stream into the view from the upper right corner.
Full Size Still Image
The second panorama is a black-and-white mosaic of panoramic-camera images showing the terrain to the south and southwest. Here, the sea of sand ripples is divided by parallel lanes of flat-lying rocks. The lanes stretch away vertically from the bottom of the panorama, aligned side by side with the ripples. In places, the rocky pavement disappears beneath ripples that are oriented horizontally rather than vertically and essentially form a barrier perpendicular to the other ripples.
Full Size Still Image
The final panorama shows Opportunity's last look back at 'Victoria Crater.' The rover's twin wheel tracks fade away in the distance until they veer left, marking the place where Opportunity left the crater's rim and turned south.
Full Size Still Image
 
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