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It wasn't the quickest drive in history, but it was worth it.
After a long journey, the Mars rover Opportunity has arrived at Endeavour Crater, a giant indentation with some interesting geology. It took Opportunity almost three years to cover the 20 kilometers to Endeavour Crater. That's an average pace well below the crawling speed of an earthworm.
Rover operators on Earth drove Opportunity cautiously and made several stops along the way to check out interesting Martian surface features. And now they have a potential treasure trove in Endeavour Crater. A NASA orbiter has spotted the signature of clays and other hydrated minerals in and around Endeavour. Those materials form in watery environments and presumably trace back to a time when Mars was much warmer and wetter than it is now. Perhaps the Red Planet was even conducive to life. Opportunity's instruments may be able to uncover what Mars was like when those minerals formed.
Whatever work the rover is able to do at Endeavour Crater is a bonus for NASA, which assigned three-month missions to Opportunity and its now defunct twin rover, Spirit. That was more than seven years ago. Slowly but surely, Opportunity keeps rolling along.
—John Matson
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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6 Comments
Add CommentI guess the rover's route wasn't a straight line because NASA says Opportunity has gone 33.49 kilometers (20.81 miles) to date. Anyhow I'm glad people are still paying attention to this epic mission.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wish my car was made as well as the Opportunity rover...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThen you need to start picking your vehicles better ;)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFollowing the link *Mars*, from the podcast, we have the article *NASA's Next Mars Rover to Land at Huge Gale Crater* that contain this other link: *Video: Fly Over Gale Crater on Mars* that is great.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPaul--The rover has been exploring Mars since 2004; the (long) voyage to Endeavour Crater was just its latest trip, which began in 2008. That's the reason for the difference between the distance from its previous location to Endeavour Crater (~20 km) and the total amount on the rover's odometer (33.49 km).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Endeavour Crater is named after the collier barque, HMB Endeavour, Royal Navy, of British explorer Capt James Cook. Who, after recording the transit of Venus in 1769 sailed to find the great south land, Terra Australis. He was singularly successful and we aussies are living proof of his outstanding achievements. However on the 10th of May 1770 at noon,(London time) 2200hrs Newcastle time, by moonlight, Cook recorded a small rock or island close by the land as noted in his journal.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt was Nobbys Head the iconic entrance to Newcastle Harbour and the Hunter River.
Many ships have been wrecked on Nobbys not withstanding the lighthouse atop. The latest being the Pasha Bulker in 2007 a giant red collier that went aground on Nobbys Beach just under the brows of Nobbys Head. The pictures went around the world. It was happily hauled off.
A year ago after realising the significance of the Endeavour Crater and Opportunity's epic journey to get there, I applied to NASA to have a small hillock named for our Nobbys Head and they have done so. If you look carefully on the upper west side of Endeavour crater near Spirit Point and Cape York, in Botany Bay, is the significant Nobbys Head, Martian edition.
Any of you astronomically inclined that wish to come to Newcastle you will be assured of a welcome and a sighting of Cook's small rock or island now reciprocated on Mars, thanks to NASA. Coincidently there will be a transit of Venus on June 6th 2012 and that will be a good time to remember Captain James Cook, the Endeavour, and, Nobbys Head, I might add. Also it will be the last Venetian transit you will ever see. Kind thought? Col.