Mars Rover spotted from orbit
Recent images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have managed to spot the Mars Opportunity Rover going about its buisiness close to the edge of the Victoria Crater. The orbiter arrived at Mars in March 2006, and has just switched on its cameras after undergoing months of braking manouevres to get it into the correct orbit. On one image the rover, which arrived over 30 months ago, can be seen as a small silver speck. You can even pick out the rover's tracks across the martian surface, which can be no more than a few centimetres wide.
Image of Martian surface showing the Opportunity rover as a silver speck. © NASA/JPL
The above picture shows the incredible detail possible with the Mars Reconnaissance detector, which is designed to scan the surface of Mars looking for signs that water may have existed on its surface thousands, if not millions of years ago. By looking at how this water has carved out river beds, lakes and coastal regions, scientists should get a clearer picture of the planet's history. The following image shows things from the rover's perspective, with a nice view looking out over the edge of the crater.
Image from Opportunity, showing the edge of the Victoria Crater. © NASA/JPL
The two Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are another great success story for NASA, having kept going 10 times longer than the original 3 months they were designed to work for. In that time they have travelled around 8 kilometres (5 miles) looking for signs of water, and possibly even life, in rocks and soil on the surface.
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