HiRISE CAMERA ON NASA ORBITER GETS SPECTACULAR VIEW OF ROVER AT VICTORIA CRATER (From Lori Stiles, University Communications, 520-626-4402)
- Friday, October 06, 2006
------------------------------------------------------ Contact Information Alfred S. McEwen 520-621-4573 snipped-for-privacy@lpl.arizona.edu
Images online at
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera detailed the entire 800-meter (roughly half-mile) Victoria crater and the rover -- down to its rover tracks and shadows -- in a single high-resolution image taken Wednesday (Oct. 3).
Alfred S. McEwen of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory released portions of the image that show views of the rover and crater at a NASA press conference in Washington, D.C., today. McEwen is principal investigator for HiRISE, which is operated from UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson.
"We're poised to have a fantastic mission, and we're not even at prime science mission yet," McEwen said at the NASA press briefing this morning. "This was our very first attempt to image 'off-nadir' (at an angle as opposed to straight down), and it worked fabulously well," McEwen added. "It's been an exciting week."
The HiRISE images for Victoria crater are available online at
The high resolution of the HiRISE image enabled Opportunity's mission planners on Wednesday (Oct.4) to identify specific rover-scale targets of interest as they planned that day's drive. It is a first in the exploration of Mars.
Opportunity has since driven north to the tip of the Cape Verde promontory, where the rover will take images of the crater interior.
HiRISE's stunning overview of Victoria crater shows a distinctive scalloped shape to its rim. This is formed by eroding crater wall material moving downhill. Layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the inner wall of the crater, and boulders that have fallen from the crater wall are visible on the crater floor. A striking field of sand dunes covers much of the crater floor.
"The ground-truth we get from the rover images and measurements enables us to better interpret features we see elsewhere on Mars, including very rugged and dramatic terrains that we can't currently study on the ground," McEwen said.
"But stay tuned," McEwen said at the press conference. "If you think this HiRISE image is spectacular, just wait."
Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: