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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (80611)	9/29/2006 4:31:43 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 362386

Mars rover reaches target crater After far exceeding its original mission, Opportunity will examine area's geology David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor Thursday, September 28, 2006 Opportunity, the tireless rover exploring the surface of Mars, has finally reached the steep rim of a broad crater called Victoria, after a 21-month journey over sand dunes, rock-studded plains and smaller Martian craters, mission scientists reported Wednesday. At the crater's edge, the six-wheeled explorer positioned its panoramic camera to peer across the half-mile width of bowl-shaped feature and transmitted images of rugged walls with dark layers of rocky outcrops and a floor blanketed with sand dunes, said astronomer Steven Squyres of Cornell, chief scientist for the rover mission. "This is a geologist's dream come true," he said in an e-mail to reporters. "Those layers of rock, if we can get to them, will tell us new stories about the environmental conditions on Mars long ago. "We especially want to learn whether the wet era, that we found recorded in the rocks closer to the landing site, extended farther back in time. The way to find that out is to go deeper, and Victoria may let us do that." The crater has long been Opportunity's goal because the rocky outcrops on its inner wall have shown up in images from Mars orbiters as so clearly layered that they could well be sedimentary and an indication that ancient waters formed them millions, if not billions, of years ago. Opportunity will soon start exploring the wall, and if it is not forbiddingly steep, Mission Control engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will try to steer the rover toward at least one large outcrop of the layered rocks so its instruments can analyze their composition. The crater is about 230 feet deep, and reaching the bottom of it will require a tricky feat of computer navigation from the engineers. But they may give it a try unless the outcropping rocks on the crater's inner walls prove so rewarding that they decide directing Opportunity to the bottom isn't worth it. The vehicle has been exploring its assigned region of Mars since January 2004, more than 10 times longer than its original three-month expected lifetime. It has traveled 5.7 miles and explored three smaller craters on its slow travels. Opportunity's partner, the rover Spirit is still operating across a vast plain on the other side of Mars and exploring a feature called the Columbia Hills. Earlier this week, NASA officials gave the two rover teams on Earth permission to continue their missions for another 12 months -- if they last that long. The Mars Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting the planet since 1997, and Mars Odyssey, in orbit since 2001, have been observing seasonal changes on the planet's surface and serving as communication relay stations for the data beamed up from both rovers. The orbiters have now been given two-year extensions for their missions, NASA officials announced. sfgate.com