Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Rim of Bopolu Crater, by Opportunity


NASA's Mars Exploration Rover used its panoramic camera to record this view of the rim of a crater about 65 kilometers (40 miles) in the distance, on the southwestern horizon. This crater, Bopolu, is about 19 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter.

The image was taken during the 2,179th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (March 11, 2010), two days after the rover drove southward away from ConcepciĆ³n Crater, site of several weeks of investigation.

Opportunity's long-term destination is Endeavour Crater, to the southeast and closer than Bopolu. The intended route heads south before turning east in order to bypass potentially hazardous sand ripples to the east, larger than the ripples in the foreground of this image.

This approximately true-color view combines three exposures taken through filters admitting wavelengths of 750 nanometers, 530 nanometers and 480 nanometers.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University

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