This normally quiet lurker has a few questions as Opportunity leaves Victoria crater. I'm going to try to answer them via Google.
How deep did Opportunity make it into Victoria? How old are the formations at Cabo Verde? From this
newscientist article on the shoulder problem:
QUOTE
Bathtub ring
The rover had just come from studying rock layers exposed within the crater walls, including one particularly eye-catching band that formed a bright "bathtub ring" around the crater's inside.
But despite driving more than 40 metres down into the crater – representing a vertical depth of about 8 metres – Opportunity spotted nothing but the same type of sulphate sandstone that it had seen everywhere else on its journey, Banerdt says.
Even layers of different colours appeared only to have either a courser or smoother texture that reflected light differently. Still, scientists are now studying the spectrometry data to learn if the layers also contain minute chemical differences that would reveal clues about the region's ancient history.
"There's all kind of pieces to this puzzle, and there's a lot of them that haven't clicked into place yet," Banerdt says.
Scientists have learned from looking at the crater walls that hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago the area was an active dune field, with winds moving either north to south, or south to north – much as they do now.
How deep is Victoria crater? 70m, according to the
Wiki articleMy questions for more informed UMSF members: how deep did we get? From AJSR's report:
QUOTE
It took Opportunity just about the entire month of August to complete the series of drives that covered a total of 50 meters (164 feet) and took it back to Duck Bay and out of the big crater it has been studying for years.
That would imply about 9 or 10 meters deep into the 70m crater.
Was the "Bathtub ring" all the confirmation Squyres et al needed to confirm the relationship between Victoria and Endurance?
Thanks
I'm kinda sad now that we've left Viccy behind.
