Help Shape the Future of Space Exploration

Join The Planetary Society Now Join Now!

Join our eNewsletter for updates & action alerts

   Please leave this field empty
Blogs

See other posts from October 2009

Headshot of Emily Lakdawalla

Opportunity's world of dunes and rock

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla

2009/10/16 01:28 CDT

Topics:

Opportunity's been making tracks lately, with brief stops to check out a couple of meteorites. I thought this view of its surroundings on sol 2,034 (a couple of days ago) was neat. It's a polar projection -- Opportunity's 360-degree view is projected onto the inside of a hemisphere, and it's like we're looking straight down onto that hemisphere.

A world of dunes and rock

Data: NASA/JPL; Mosaic: Damien Bouic; Polar projection: Phil Stooke

A world of dunes and rock
On Sol 2,034, Opportunity had driven to a relatively bedrock-rich spot among the Meridiani dunes. A meteorite named Mackinac, the third it had investigated in recent weeks, sits at about the 7:00 position, close to the rover. The image is a polar projection of a 360-degree Navcam panorama captured by Opportunity after a 60-plus-meter drive to the northwest. The direction of the drive was almost directly away from Opportunity's eventual goal of Endeavour crater, but it placed Opportunity on a large area of bedrock that continues for some distance to the south, Opportunity's likely next driving direction.

Comments:

Leave a Comment:

You must be logged in to submit a comment. Log in now.
Facebook Twitter Email RSS AddThis

Blog Search

JOIN THE
PLANETARY SOCIETY

Our Curiosity Knows No Bounds!

Become a member of The Planetary Society and together we will create the future of space exploration.

Join Us

The Planetary Report

The Summer Solstice issue is out!

Read it Now

Space in Images

Pretty pictures and awe-inspiring science.

See More

Connect With Us

Facebook! Twitter! Google+ and more…
Continue the conversation with our online community!