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Mars Rover Hi-Tails It Out of Crater

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

The team determined that wind deposited Victoria's building materials, and then water cemented its walls into place, which is basically the same scenario uncovered at Endurance. Of particular interest is how sediments, such as potassium, sodium and magnesium, settled into the sandstone. The deposits tell scientists about the water conditions on Mars.

With a floor about 200 feet below ground level and a basin about a half-mile in diameter, Victoria has been the most challenging terrain for the rover, which is about the size of small riding lawn mower.

Although there is still much to explore in the crater, managers of the program decided to get out while Opportunity still can. The rover is operating well, with only a stiffened shoulder joint for scientists to work around, but an unexplained and transitory electrical signal has caught the team's eye. A similar reading from Spirit preceded the breakdown of one of its wheels.

"We don't know if this was a mechanical fault or a sudden strain of the motor because maybe the other wheels slipped on some loose soil, but when it occurred, everybody sat back and thought about the condition we were in," Banerdt said.

The team had been hoping to drive Opportunity to rock at the base of a cliff but decided the science gain would not be worth risk to the rover should a wheel failure prevent it from climbing out of the crater.

"If Opportunity were driving with only five wheels, like Spirit, it probably would never get out," said JPL mission manager Bill Nelson.

While outside scientists review the team's research prior to publication, Opportunity opens a new chapter in its exploration of Mars -- studying small rocks called cobbles that are transplants to the region.

The stones are colored differently than the surrounding terrain, and if they were made of sandstone like the rocks lining the craters' walls, they would have been blasted to bits by now by Mars' heady winds. Rocks that survive are usually harder and made of different materials.

"These things are scattered pretty much all over the plains, and we've been driving past them for years," Banerdt said. "Now finally, in the eyes of many scientists, we're going to get a chance to look."

Related Links:

Discovery Space

Irene Klotz's blog: Free Space

Mars Exploration Rover Mission

How Stuff Works: Mars Rovers