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NASA Releases New View of Mars 'Endurance Crater'
By Andrew Bridges
Associated Press
posted: 09:45 am ET
04 May 2004
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UntitledLOS ANGELES (AP) -- NASA released Monday a sweeping 180-degree view of a broad crater punched in the surface of Mars that was photographed by the space agency's Opportunity rover as it perched on the rim of the 430-foot-wide depression. "I don't think it's disappointed anybody," mission manager Matt Wallace said of the first peek into Endurance crater. Members of the $830 million mission immediately began making plans to circumnavigate the 1,350-foot perimeter of the crater and, if feasible, send the rover rolling down into it. "The big question is, if we can get down, can we get back out?" Wallace said. Opportunity arrived at the crater on Friday. It has sat and soaked in the view since then, snapping multiple images of its rocky walls and dune-covered floor. In the new panorama, stitched together from four separate images, portions of the crater's more gentle slopes appeared to be almost paved with flat rocks, which could smooth the descent for Opportunity, Wallace said. In other areas, steep walls could be seen lining the crater. Scientists planned for Opportunity to "toe dip" at several locations around the crater's rim to test the soil and measure the steepness of its slopes. On the opposite side of Mars, Opportunity's twin continued its trek toward a distant cluster of hills. The Spirit rover completed on Monday its longest one-day drive yet, covering just shy of 305 feet. NASA sent the twin rovers to Mars to prospect for geologic evidence of past water on the now dry and dusty planet.
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