Frater Studying Mars Crater for NASA
WASHINGTON - One of NASA's robotic explorers, Opportunity, is about to descend into one of the largest craters on Mars, opening a window for scientists into the ancient environment of the fourth planet from the sun.
Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit have been exploring the planet since 2004, when they began what NASA scientists planned as 90-day missions.
The missions have been extended four times and, though both rovers are well past their design lives and have had some mechanical problems, their instruments are working and they continue to send science data back to Earth.
Opportunity reached the Victoria Crater nine months ago and has been driving clockwise around the jagged rim, along its pattern of alcoves and promontories, collecting images of the crater walls to survey the geology and find the best way into the crater.
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters authorized the rover's descent into the crater despite potential risks.
"The kind of stuff we want to do in this crater requires a healthy six-wheel vehicle, which is what we have now," said Frater Steven Squyres (Scorpion Chapter) of Cornell University in New York, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover's science instruments, at a NASA briefing.
"What we're interested in doing is getting in there, doing our business and getting out while the vehicle still has the six wheels to enable us to climb out," he added. "So if we're ever going to do it, now's the time."
The other rover, Spirit, lost the use of one wheel more than a year ago, affecting its ability to climb but not to drive on flat surfaces.
"Given that this mission is 12 times further along than they initially bargained for, and the great success of it," said Alan Stern, NASA associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, "if we were to end up stuck in that crater, the risk is worth the reward."
Adapted from NASA Press Release. If you would like to see your chapter news here, contact Communications Coordinator Tom McAninch.