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October 12, 2008 2:39:42 AM CDT

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Opportunity Knocks on Mars

Posted Sep 28, 07 10:47 AM CDT in US,  Technology,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – NASA’s Martian explorer Opportunity reached its first destination inside the cavernous Victoria Crater yesterday and prepared to get to work drilling into bright rock layers to collect data. The six-wheeled robot last month began the precarious decline into the crater, headed for a shiny piece of bedrock that scientists think is a relic of the ancient Martian surface, the AP reports.

Opportunity is now parked 40 feet below the rim at a 25-degree tilt—the steepest angle it has encountered since landing on the planet—while its sister rover Spirit explores a plateau on the other side of Mars for evidence of a volcano. The two robots, which landed on the planet three years ago, were originally slated for a three-month mission; this summer they survived a fierce dust storm that cut their power for weeks.

Source Associated Press

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This photo released by NASA, taken by the Mars rover Opportunity's front hazard-identification camera, shows a wide-angle view looking down into and across Victoria Crater. NASA's rover Opportunity has...   (Associated Press)
This image provided by NASA shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity after finishing an in-and-out maneuver to check wheel slippage near the rim of Victoria Crater, Opportunity re-entered the...   (Associated Press)
This image released by NASA Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, taken by the Mars rover Opportunity, shows a view from the rim of Mars' Victoria Crater about 130 feet from where controllers intend to start the rover's...   (Associated Press)
This image provided by NASA shows Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity after entering Victoria Crater during the rover's 1,291st Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 11, 2007). The rover team commanded Opportunity...   (Associated Press)
In this image provided by NASA shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit after it moved its robotic arm during the rover's 1,277th Martian day on Aug. 6, 2007 for the first time in 20 days. Teams operating...   (Associated Press)
A photo released by NASA ,shows a patch of bright-toned soil found by the Mars Rover Spirit so rich in silica that scientists propose water must have been involved in concentrating it. The silica-rich...   (Associated Press)
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NASA  • Mars  • robot  • rover  • Opportunity  • Spirit


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