Mars: Windy, Wet And Wild: Victoria Crater Unveils More Of Mars' Geologic Past

Mars: Windy, Wet And Wild: Victoria Crater Unveils More Of Mars' Geologic Past

www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2009) — After thoroughly investigating Victoria Crater on Mars for two years, the instruments aboard the Rover Opportunity reveal more evidence of our neighboring red planet's windy, wet and wild past.

Opportunity's two-year exploration of Victoria Crater – a half-mile wide and 250 feet deep – yielded a treasury of information about the planet's geologic history and supported previous findings indicating that water once flowed on the planet's surface, according to Steve Squyres, Cornell professor of astronomy and the principal investigator for NASA's Mars Ex

(visit the link for the full news article)

Another great find from Rover Oppertunity on Mars. This is great news in uncovering information about Mars's history of being a planet that may have once supported life (or better yet, still does). The news article doesn't go into great detail but I think it's just one step closer in knowing our neighbouring planet.

Another interesting sidenote:

Opportunity, for its part, remains healthy after nearly 1900 sols (Martian days) on the planet – more than 1800 sols beyond its projected lifespan.

www.sciencedaily.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Nice article, though there is hardly anything groundbreaking.

I liked this bit though:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in Gusev crater, Opportunity's twin rover Spirit caused consternation with an unexplained computer reboot in April. That problem hasn't recurred, but the rover is now stuck, possibly belly-deep, in a patch of fine Martian soil.
"The vehicle seems to be in a unique combination of soft, sandy material and slopes that we haven't encountered yet," said Bell. "Neither one has been particularly problematic in the past, but the combination of the two has us bogged down.

How about MUD for identification




[edit on 22-5-2009 by MrVertigo]