Opportunity at the Bright Band on Sol 1307: 8 October 2007 in Aviation Week & Space Technology
Today we have published a new Opportunity image from Sol 1307 at the bright band inside Victoria Crater. Prepared and accepted as another last second contribution , for the 8 October 2007 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine with the headline "Victorian Image". see pdf file below and attached image.
notice details of .... RATs Shadow
here is first few paragraphs from online site:
World News & Analysis
Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity Explore New Sites
Aviation Week & Space Technology
10/08/2007, page 39
Craig Covault
Cape Canaveral
Printed headline: Victorian Image
The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, now 44 months into what were to have been just three-month missions, are beginning to explore terrain features strikingly different from their already diverse discoveries on Mars, now 87 million mi. from Earth.
Opportunity has descended several dozen feet onto about a 25-deg. sloping side wall of the 230-ft.-deep Victoria Crater to a bright band of unusually smooth white rock. Note Opportunity’s false-color view, looking up toward the rim from inside the crater, of Victoria’s distant promontory formations near the shoulder joint of Opportunity’s arm (see photo). This monochromatic forward hazard camera image has been colorized by analysts Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo using generic Cornell Pancam hues.
The white layer extends around the full interior of Victoria, like a bathtub ring. Geologists believe it is the original Martian surface layer before the spot was blasted by a meteorite over a billion years ago. As such, it could reveal atmospheric conditions on the surface during the time the meteorite struck, as well as both ground and surface water conditions at that time. Every sampling system on the rover is being used on the layer.
After working for several days at this location, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory controllers will move the rover several feet, then repeat the process to obtain data at other positions and depths within the 2,500-ft.-dia. crater.
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for your enjoyment.
Ken (mars loon) and Marco (dilo)
Click to view attachment