Click on the image for annotated version of
A Geologist's Treasure Trove
Click on the image for In the Far East (QTVR)
This high-resolution image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover
Opportunity's panoramic camera highlights the puzzling rock outcropping
that scientists are eagerly planning to investigate. Presently, Opportunity is
on its lander facing northeast; the outcropping lies to the northwest. These
layered rocks measure only 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall and are thought
to be either volcanic ash deposits or sediments carried by water or wind.
Data from the panoramic camera's near-infrared, blue and green filters were
combined to create this approximate, true-color image.
The Outcrop in a Nutshell
Figure 1 highlights various rock targets within
the outcrop lining the inner edge of the small crater where the rover landed.
Opportunity recently finished examining the rock dubbed "Last Chance,"
then rolled over to "Wave Ripple," a section of rock in the region nicknamed
"The Dells." Tomorrow, March 6, 2004, Sol 41, the rover will take a series of
"touch-and-go" microscopic images at "Wave Ripple," before heading to
another rock region with targets named "Slick Rock" and "Berry Bowl."
