Victoria (crater)

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Victoria Crater
Taken by HiRISE on MRO
Region Meridiani Planum
Coordinates 2.05° S, 5.50° W
Diameter 750 m
Depth Approx. 70 metres.
Discoverer Opportunity rover
Eponym The ship Victoria

Victoria Crater is an impact crater located at 5.50°W 2.05°S in Meridiani Planum, on Mars, currently being visited by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity[1]. It is roughly 730 metres wide, nearly eight times the size of Endurance, visited by Opportunity from sols 95 to 315. It is named after Victoria, one of the five ships of Ferdinand Magellan and the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. Along the edges of the crater are many outcrops within recessed alcoves and promontories, named for bays and capes that Magellan discovered.

Craters are interesting for scientists as they enable access to the layers beneath the soil and a means to analyze the geological history of Mars. For planetary geologists in this case, Victoria will provide them with even more exposures of the subsurface of Mars than ever before.

Opportunity traveled for 21 months to Victoria before finally reaching its edge on September 26, 2006 (sol 951), at the newly named "Duck Bay"[2]. Around the rover were features dubbed "No Name", "Duck Crater", "Emma Dean", "Maid of the Canyon", and "Kitty Clyde's Sister". It also imaged several nearby alcoves, informally named "Cape Verde" and "Cabo Frio", and a small bright crater the size of Beagle crater on the opposite end of Victoria.

Victoria crater may be the last major site that Opportunity will visit. One reason is that the large, deep crater may take up to a year to analyse thoroughly. Secondly, there are few other places of interest in the nearby vicinity and other craters deeper than Victoria are more than 25 km away. [3]

Contents

Panorama of Victoria crater
Panorama of Victoria crater

After arrival at the crater, the rover undertook a partial clockwise circumnavigation. The trip took approximately a quarter of the way around the crater. The various "bays" and "capes" were named after various landmarks visited by Ferdinand Magellan aboard the ship Victoria. [4]

The circumnavigation allowed rover drivers to identify possible entry and exit points, create a high resolution topographical map of the crater and test out upgraded drive software.[4] The rover investigated the layering on the walls of the various capes and the nature of the dark streaks to the north of the crater.[5]

After a planet-wide dust storm that delayed entry into the crater for six weeks and threatened the survival of both rovers, the rover entered the crater at a point in Duck Bay. This was accomplished by a test maneuver on sol 1291 to determine slippage and confirm exit strategies, followed by entry on sol 1293.[6][7]

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the rim of Victoria Crater as photographed from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at the rim of Victoria Crater as photographed from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

  1. ^ "Victoria Crater" at Meridiani Planum. Retrieved on 2006-10-09.
  2. ^ PIA08777: Overview of Approach to 'Victoria'. Retrieved on 2006-10-09.
  3. ^ Cosmic Log: Traffic jam on Mars. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
  4. ^ a b A.J.S. Rayl. Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Gets Back Home (To Where It Once Belonged), Opportunity Completes 10K at Victoria's Rim. The Planetary Society. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  5. ^ A.J.S. Rayl. Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Homes in on Mitcheltree Ridge, Opportunity Crosses Valley Without Peril. The Planetary Society. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  6. ^ Mars Exploration Rover Status Report: Rovers Resume Driving. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
  7. ^ Rover Status Report: Opportunity Begins Sustained Exploration Inside Crater. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.

3D red_cyan glasses recommended for your viewing pleasure

View from Duck Bay. Amateur anaglyphs with all the detail of the Navcam raw images (Click to enlarge).

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_%28crater%29"
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