Opportunity Takes a Dip Into Victoria Crater

Muad'Dave writes "From the NASA News Release 'Today, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in — about four meters (13 feet) — to get all six wheels past the crater rim. Then it backed uphill for about three meters (10 feet). The driving commands for the day included a precaution for the rover to stop driving if its wheels were slipping more than 40 percent. Slippage exceeded that amount on the last step of the drive, so Opportunity stopped with its front pair of wheels still inside the crater.' This marks the beginning of perhaps the greatest 'Opportunity' for new discoveries on Mars."

most of Opportunity's discoveries early on

[peter303]

Opportunity got lucky and landed in an area with clear evidence of water sedimentation- hematite percipitation nodules and layered rock. Otherwise I expect Victoria to be all not that different from Endurance crater in 2003.

On the other Spirit took a couple of years to find evidence of water. The first couple years it crossed a volcanic basalt landscape, may with slight evidence of water healing in rock cracks. In its current area it has crossed bright sulfer salt soils - a clear sign of water. Spirit is very gimpy now. A couple meters a week is good progress.

Re:Who comes up with the names for these features?

[peter303]

These names are from Captain Cook's south sea expeditions. Once they get a theme for a region, they continue. Otherwise its girlfriends, kids, goofy shapes, etc.