Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars

Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars
An elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis," with a rock spire in it, dominates a recent scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

An elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis," with a rock spire in it, dominates a recent scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

Opportunity completed its 4,000th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars on April 26, 2015. The rover has been exploring Mars since early 2004.

This scene from late March 2015 shows a shallow called Spirit of St. Louis, about 110 feet (34 meters) long and about 80 feet (24 meters) wide, with a floor slightly darker than surrounding terrain. The rocky feature toward the far end of the crater is about 7 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) tall, rising higher than the crater's rim.

The component images of this mosaic view were taken on March 29 and 30, 2015, during Sol 3973 and Sol 3974 of the mission. This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combing exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters, centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet).

The view is centered toward the northeast. The rover's location and the Spirit of Saint Louis Crater are near the center this map:

Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars

The unusually shaped Spirit of St. Louis Crater lies on the outer portion of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Endeavour spans about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, and Opportunity has been exploring its western rim for about one-third of the rover's mission, which has lasted more than 11 years. Endeavour's elevated western rim extends northward to the left from Spirit of St. Louis Crater in this scene. A glimpse of the far side of Endeavour is visible on either side of the rock spire.

  • Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars
    An elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis," with a rock spire in it, dominates this scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.
  • Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars
    An elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis," with a rock spire in it, dominates this stereo view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

More information: For more about Opportunity's mission, see: mars.nasa.gov/mer

Provided by NASA

Citation: Rock spire in 'Spirit of St. Louis Crater' on Mars (2015, May 1) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2015-05-spire-spirit-st-louis-crater.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Mars rover Opportunity's vista includes long tracks

187 shares

Feedback to editors