[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Begins Study of Valley's Origin

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2017 15:47:30 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201706302247.v5UMlUlL018342_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6844

Mars Rover Opportunity Begins Study of Valley's Origin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
May 15, 2017

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the main destination
of its current two-year extended mission -- an ancient fluid-carved valley
incised on the inner slope of a vast crater's rim.

As the rover approached the upper end of "Perseverance Valley" in early
May, images from its cameras began showing parts of the area in greater
resolution than what can be seen in images taken from orbit above Mars.

"The science team is really jazzed at starting to see this area up close
and looking for clues to help us distinguish among multiple hypotheses
about how the valley formed," said Opportunity Project Scientist Matt
Golombek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The process that carved Perseverance Valley into the rim of Endeavour
Crater billions of years ago has not yet been identified. Among the possibilities:
It might have been flowing water, or might have been a debris flow in
which a small amount of water lubricated a turbulent mix of mud and boulders,
or might have been an even drier process, such as wind erosion. The mission's
main objective with Opportunity at this site is to assess which possibility
is best supported by the evidence still in place.

The upper end of the valley is at a broad notch in the crest of the crater
rim. The rover team's plan for investigating the area begins with taking
sets of images of the valley from two widely separated points at that
dip in the rim. This long-baseline stereo imaging will provide information
for extraordinarily detailed three-dimensional analysis of the terrain.
The valley extends down from the rim's crest line into the crater, at
a slope of about 15 to 17 degrees for a distance of about two football
fields.

"The long-baseline stereo imaging will be used to generate a digital elevation
map that will help the team carefully evaluate possible driving routes
down the valley before starting the descent," said Opportunity Project
Manager John Callas of JPL.

Reversing course back uphill when partway down could be difficult, so
finding a path with minimum obstacles will be important for driving Opportunity
through the whole valley. Researchers intend to use the rover to examine
textures and compositions at the top, throughout the length and at the
bottom, as part of investigating the valley's history.

While the stereo imaging is being analyzed for drive-planning, the team
plans to use the rover to examine the area immediately west of the crater
rim at the top of the valley. "We expect to do a little walkabout just
outside the crater before driving down Perseverance Valley," Golombek
said.

The mission has begun its 150th month since the early 2004 landing of
Opportunity in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. In the first three
months, which were originally planned as the full length of the mission,
it found evidence in rocks that acidic water flowed across parts of Mars
and soaked the subsurface early in the planet's history.

For nearly half of the mission -- 69 months -- Opportunity has been exploring
sites on and near the western rim of Endeavour Crater, where even older
rocks are exposed. The crater spans about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in
diameter. Opportunity arrived from the northwest at a point corresponding
to about the 10 o'clock position on the circle if north is noon; Perseverance
Valley slices west to east at approximately the 8 o'clock position.

Opportunity hustled southward to reach the crown of the valley in recent
weeks. In mid-April it finished about two-and-a-half years on a rim segment
called "Cape Tribulation." In seven drives between then and arriving at
the destination on May 4, it covered 377 yards (345 meters), bringing
the mission's total odometry to about 27.8 miles (44.7 kilometers).

Opportunity and the next-generation Mars rover, Curiosity, as well as
three active NASA Mars orbiters and surface missions to launch in 2018
and 2020 are all part of ambitious robotic exploration to understand Mars,
which helps lead the way for sending humans to Mars in the 2030s. JPL,
a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, built Opportunity and manages
the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. For more
information about Opportunity, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/rovers

https://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov

News Media Contact
Guy Webster / Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278 / 818-393-2433
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.c.good at jpl.nasa.gov

Laurie Cantillo / Dwayne Brown
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1077 / 202-358-1726
laura.l.cantillo at nasa.gov / dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov
Received on Fri 30 Jun 2017 06:47:30 PM PDT