Since the last post Oppy has been quietly working her way towards the rocky ridge she spotted on the horizon a couple of weeks ago, and now she is *this* close to it. And it looks like the ancient, wind-carved rock there has a lot to excite the mission scientists. We’ll come back to that, but for a moment let’s pause, with our hands resting on Oppy’s now beautifully dust-free back, and take in this recent view from across the crater…
How gorgeous is that? You can see all the way to the other side of the crater, to the hills and mountains which make up the opposite rim more than 20km away. In the middle distance the great mound of dust which covers the crater’s floor, blown and sculpted into rippled dunes by the same chill winds which have scoured the rover’s solar panels. Fantastic view.
Meanwhile, over the past few sols Oppy has crept up on the ridge. These images I’ve made chart Oppy’s progress toward it…
Oh wow, just look at that… that must have the mission scientists drooling over their keyboards! And when you look at a section of the ridge in more detail, and enhance the view by boosting the contrast etc, this is what you see…
I think Oppy will be here a while. 🙂
The Road To Endeavour 
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