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Press Release Images: Opportunity
17-May-2013
Mars Rover Opportunity Examines Clay Clues in Rock
Press Release
Rock Target 'Esperance' Altered by Wet History
Rock Target 'Esperance' Altered by Wet History (False Color)

The pale rock in the upper center of this image, about the size of a human forearm, includes a target called "Esperance," which was inspected by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Data from the rover's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) indicate that Esperance's composition is higher in aluminum and silica, and lower in calcium and iron, than other rocks Opportunity has examined in more than nine years on Mars. Preliminary interpretation points to clay mineral content due to intensive alteration by water.

This image is a composite of three exposures taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) during the 3,262nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (March 28, 2013). The component images were taken through three different 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.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

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Opportunity Heads Toward Next Destination, 'Solander Point'
Opportunity Heads Toward Next Destination, 'Solander Point'

This map of a portion of the western rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars shows the area where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity worked for 20 months, "Cape York," in relation to the area where the rover team plans for Opportunity to spend its sixth Martian winter, "Solander Point."

The scale bar at lower left is 200 meters (one-eighth of a mile). The inset at upper left indicates the location of the mapped area in relation to the entire Endeavour Crater, which is 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter. Both Cape York and Solander Point are raised sections of the crater's western rim.

Opportunity arrived at the edge of Endeavour Crater in August 2011 after a two-year trek from Victoria Crater, where it had spent two years. Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected traces of clay minerals in a portion of Cape York, and the rover team used that information to guide Opportunity's exploration of the area. Opportunity finished its inspection of targeted rocks on Cape York with examination of "Esperance," indicated on this map. Esperance was found to have a composition suggesting the presence of clay minerals formed by water intensely altering the rock.

Solander Point has a north-facing slope favorable for electrical output by Opportunity's solar panels during the coming southern-hemisphere winter. The minimum-sunshine days of the winter will be in February 2014. The rover team plans to get Opportunity to a northerly tilt well before then. The anticipated drive distance from Esperance to Solander Point is about 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers). Opportunity began that trek on May 14, 2013.

The base image for this map is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

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Close-Up of 'Esperance' After Abrasion by Opportunity
Close-Up of 'Esperance' After Abrasion by Opportunity

This mosaic of four frames shot by the microscopic imager on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock target called "Esperance" after some of the rock's surface had been removed by Opportunity's rock abrasion tool, or RAT. The component images were taken on the 3,305th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (May 11, 2013). The area shown is about 2.4 inches (6 centimeters) across.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/USGS

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