Opportunity Surpasses 30 KM Driving and Snaps Skylab Crater in 3 D

The 7 Year and 30 Kilometer Long Journey of Opportunity to June 1, 2011

This collage of martian surface mosaics and orbital maps shows the entire route traversed by NASA?s Opportunity Mars Rover from landing on Jan 24, 2004 to surpassing the 30 kilometer driving mark on June 1, 2011(see map notation). Opportunity is on an overland expedition driving to Endeavour Crater, some 22 km in diameter. Photo mosaic of Santa Maria crater at bottom, center shows one of the last spots investigated by Opportunity on Sol 2519, Feb. 23, 2011 before departing for Endeavour in March 2011. The exposed rock named Ruiz Garcia showed signatures of hydrated mineral deposits located at southeast portion of Santa Maria crater. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell Marco Di Lorenzo, Kenneth Kremer

3 D image collection below

With her most recent drive of 482 feet (146.8 meters) on June 1, 2011 (Sol 2614), NASA?s Opportunity Mars Rover has zoomed past the unimaginable 30 kilometer (18,64 miles) mark in total odometry since safely landing on Mars nearly seven and one half years ago on Jan 24, 2004. That’s 50 times beyond the roughly quarter mile of roving distance initially forseen.

Opportunity is now 88 months into the original 3 month mission ?warranty? planned by NASA and the rover team. That?s over 29 times beyond the original design lifetime and an achievement that no one on the rover teams ever expected to observe. (...)
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© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2011. |
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Post tags: 3 D, Alan Shepard, Mars, Mars Rovers, NASA, Opportunity, Opportunity Rover, skylab, stereo images

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