PIA05572: Opportunity Studies Bait in Shark's Cage
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
 Spacecraft:  Opportunity
 Instrument:  Hazcam
 Product Size:  3100 x 3100 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05572.tif (9.13 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05572.jpg (548.4 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

In its 49th sol on Mars, NASA's Opportunity had nearly concluded its scientific examination of the extreme southwestern end of the outcrop in Meridiani Planum. In the "Shark's Cage" area of the neighborhood called "Shoemaker's Patio," featured in this image from the front hazard avoidance camera, Opportunity deployed its arm to study the features called "Shark's Tooth," "Shark Pellets," and "Lamination." "Shark's Tooth" is a piece of the unusual red rind that appears to fill cracks in the outcrop. This rind may be some kind of chemical alteration of the rocks. "Shark Pellets" is an area of soil that was under investigation as part of the crater soil survey. "Lamination" is a target with very thin layers that resemble uniform pages in a book, an indication of how the sediments were deposited. A final experiment in this area will be attempted on sol 51. Opportunity's front left wheel will "scuff" the rock called "Carousel." "Scuffing" involves scraping the rock with one wheel while holding all the others still. This experiment essentially turns the rover wheels into tools, to try and determine the hardness of the target rock.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
2004-03-16