There hasn’t been much to report the past few days – Oppy has been slowly chugging her way towards the “Twin Craters” (proper name coming soon, I’m sure) – and the images sent back have been quite vague and featureless, showing the craters as little more than dark lines ‘up ahead’.
Today, however, we can see more detail and structure in the feature that will be Oppy’s next stop. Here’s what she can see now:
Yep, we can definitely see some detail now – some rocks over on the right (in, or on, a ledge of some kind?) and a high dust dune or structure on the left. Adding a little colour gives us this view…
Which isn’t much of an improvement, I know, but I like it, and this is my blog! 🙂
I had hoped that the 3D view would be a little more revealing, but to be honest it isn’t, as you can see for yourself…
Ok, what are we looking at? Well, the Twins look like this on a HiRISE image…
Two craters, side by side – actually, touching. I am starting to wonder if the one on the left is younger than the one on the right; it’s edge looks sharper, and the crater on the left looks a lot more eroded and dust-filled. Interesting.
So, where are we? Here’s where we are, approaching the craters from the north…
Seen from above, courtesy of Google Mars, this is how far we’ve come since leaving Concepcion Crater (you’ll probably need to click on this next image, to enlarge it, to see the route properly…)
By the way, during her most recent drive, Oppy passed an important milestone – actually, a 20km stone! Yes, during the last drive, Oppy broke the 20km barrier. She’s now driven more than 20km since landing, all those years ago! Not bad for a rover that many hoped might last as long as 90 days on Mars after landing…! 🙂 🙂
After another couple of drives Oppy should be almost on top of the craters, and we’ll have much better pictures, so check back again then!
The Road To Endeavour 