|
|
 |
| Press Release Images: Opportunity |
 |
 |
05-Jan-2012
|
'Greeley Haven' Is Winter Workplace for Mars Rover
Press Release
|
 |
Approaching 'Greeley Haven' on Endeavour Rim
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to capture this view of a northward-facing outcrop, "Greeley Haven," where the rover will work during its fifth Martian winter. The rover team chose this designation as a tribute to the influential planetary geologist Ronald Greeley (1939-2011), who was a member of the science team for the Mars rovers and many other interplanetary missions.
Greeley Haven provides a north-facing slope of 15 degrees or more to aid electric output from Opportunity's solar array. It also presents geological targets of interest for investigation during months of limited mobility while the rover stays on the slope.
Opportunity took this southward-looking image during the 2,790th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Nov. 29, 2011), before an approach drive to the outcrop. The site is near the northern tip of the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Portions of the crater's interior and far rim are visible in the background. In the subsequent three weeks, Opportunity checked properties of two specific targets on the outcrop with tools on its robotic arm and tested maneuverability on the sloping surface. After deciding that the site could serve the mission well for the next several months, the team informally named it as a memorial for Greeley, who taught generations of planetary scientists at Arizona State University until his death on Oct. 27, 2011.
Opportunity has worked through four Martian southern hemisphere winters since it landed in Jan. 24, 2004 (Universal Time; Jan. 25, PST)about 14 miles (23 kilometers) to the northwest of its current location. Closer to the equator than its twin rover, Spirit, Opportunity has not needed to stay on a sun-facing slope during the previous winters. Now, however, Opportunity's solar panels carry a thicker coating of dust than in the previous winters. Unless an unlikely wind cleans the panels in coming weeks, the team will use a strategy employed for three winters with Spirit: staying on a sun-facing slope. For several months of shortened daylight before and after the southern Mars winter solstice on March 30, 2012, the sun will pass relatively low in the northern sky from the rover's perspective, and Opportunity will stay on the north-facing slope.
Plans for research continuing through the months at Greeley Haven include a radio-science investigation of the interior of Mars, inspections of mineral compositions and textures on the outcrop, and assembly of a full-circle, color panorama of the surroundings. The planned full-circle image will be called the Greeley Panorama.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
|
Browse Image |
Medium Image (123 kB) |
Large (221 kB)
Full Resolution (3.2 MB)
|
|
|
|
 |
'Greeley Haven' Site for Opportunity's Fifth Martian Winter
This mosaic was acquired by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on Sol 2793 (Dec. 2, 2011). It shows a north-facing outcrop, informally named "Greeley Haven," where Opportunity will work during the rover's fifth Martian winter. The rover team chose this designation as a tribute to the influential planetary geologist Ronald Greeley (1939-2011), who was a member of the science team for the Mars rovers and many other interplanetary missions.
The site is of interest not only for its geologic features but because it has favorable northerly slopes to optimize Opportunity's solar energy as winter approaches in the southern hemisphere of Mars. After this mosaic was acquired, Opportunity backed up the slope to park at approximately 16 degrees northerly tilt and used tools on its robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD) to examine rock and soil targets. After deciding that the site could serve the mission well for the next several months, the team designated it as a memorial for Greeley, who taught generations of planetary scientists at Arizona State University, Tempe, until his death on Oct. 27, 2011.
The site is near the northern tip of the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater.
The image combines exposures taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The view is presented in approximate true color. This "natural color" is the rover team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if humans were there and able to see it with their own eyes.
Plans for research continuing through the months at Greeley Haven include a radio-science investigation of the interior of Mars, inspections of mineral compositions and textures on the outcrop, and assembly of a full-circle, color panorama of the surroundings. The planned full-circle image will be called the Greeley Panorama.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.
|
Browse Image |
Medium Image (115 kB) |
Large (4.2 MB)
Full Resolution (9.2 MB)
|
|
|
|
 |
'Greeley Haven' Site for Opportunity's Fifth Martian Winter (False Color)
This mosaic was acquired by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on Sol 2793 (Dec. 2, 2011). It shows a north-facing outcrop, informally named "Greeley Haven," where Opportunity will work during the rover's fifth Martian winter. The rover team chose this designation as a tribute to the influential planetary geologist Ronald Greeley (1939-2011), who was a member of the science team for the Mars rovers and many other interplanetary missions.
The site is of interest not only for its geologic features but because it has favorable northerly slopes to optimize Opportunity's solar energy as winter approaches in the southern hemisphere of Mars. After this mosaic was acquired, Opportunity backed up the slope to park at approximately 16 degrees northerly tilt and used tools on its robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD) to examine rock and soil targets. After deciding that the site could serve the mission well for the next several months, the team designated it as a memorial for Greeley, who taught generations of planetary scientists at Arizona State University, Tempe, until his death on Oct. 27, 2011.
The site is near the northern tip of the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater.
The image combines exposures taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The view is presented in false color to make some differences between materials easier to see.
Plans for research continuing through the months at Greeley Haven include a radio-science investigation of the interior of Mars, inspections of mineral compositions and textures on the outcrop, and assembly of a full-circle, color panorama of the surroundings. The planned full-circle image will be called the Greeley Panorama.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.
|
Browse Image |
Medium Image (229 kB) |
Large (9.7 MB)
Full Resolution (17.3 MB)
|
|
 |
Locator Map for 'Greeley Haven' on Endeavour Rim
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will spend its fifth Martian winter working at a location informally named "Greeley Haven." This site is an outcrop near the northern tip of the "Cape York" segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater. It provides a north-facing slope of 15 degrees or more to aid electric output from Opportunity's solar array. It also presents geological targets of interest for investigating during months of limited mobility while the rover stays on the slope.
This image, covering an area about 2,000 feet (about 600 meters) wide, indicates the location of Greeley Haven on Cape York. The base image of the map is a portion of an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, on July 23, 2010. Other image products from this observation are available at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_018701_1775 .
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the spacecraft development and integration contractor for the project and built the spacecraft.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA
|
Browse Image |
Medium Image (241 kB) |
Large (1.4 MB)
Full Resolution (12.8 MB)
|
|
|
|
JPL Image Use Policy
|
