Off-road challenge continues on Mars
Apr 14, 2005 15: 42 EST
No, they’re not tracks from a dune buggy racing through the sands of the Southwest, they’re imprints from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. When they saw this recent image from the red planet, NASA scientists were a little perplexed by the tilted rocks in the background. Perhaps they were more resistant to erosion than the soft substance that Spirit left its tracks in. Did water once flow past these tilted rocks?
Impact crater?
Spirit is in an area of Mars known as “Columbia Hills.” Sounds expensive. NASA has several hypotheses as to the origin of the Columbia Hills: They could be the remains of an ancient volcano, a remnant of an old impact crater from an asteroid, or delta deposits formed when water once flowed there.
The adventure continues
In general, the two Mars Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) have been performing beyond expectations. So well, in fact, that they’ve been approved for 18 more months of operation. According to Dr. Ghassem Asrar, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, "We are extending their mission through September 2006 to take advantage of having such capable resources still healthy and in an excellent position to continue their adventures."
We look forward to further pictures from the red planet as Spirit and Opportunity continue their off-road challenge.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers' discovery of evidence of past water on Mars was the top scientific "Breakthrough of the Year," according to the journal “Science.” The Rovers completed their original mission in April of 2004. Spirit was launched from Cape Canaveral on June 10th, 2003. Opportunity followed on July 7th.
Mars image courtesy of NASA/JPL.
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