Shows Opportunity Rover Near Rim Of Crater

It was an interstellar family reunion of sorts last week, as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) snapped a picture of the Mars Rover Opportunity from high overhead, showing the rover near the rim of Victoria Crater.

In the image above released by NASA, you can see tracks made by Opportunity as it made the long, slow journey to its new resting place at the crater rim. Victoria is an impact crater about 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter at Meridiani Planum near the equator of Mars.

As Aero-News reported, Opportunity has been operating on Mars since January 2004. Five days before this image was taken, Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria, after a drive of more than 9 kilometers (over 5 miles). It then drove to the position where it is seen in this image.

Also shown in the image are "Duck Bay," the eroded segment of the crater rim where Opportunity first arrived at the crater; "Cabo Frio," a sharp promontory to the south of Duck Bay; and "Cape Verde," another promontory to the north.

When viewed at the highest resolution, this image shows the rover itself, wheel tracks in the soil behind it, and the rover's shadow, including the shadow of the camera mast. After this image was taken, Opportunity moved to the very tip of Cape Verde to perform more imaging of the interior of the crater.

FMI: www.nasa.gov