Opportunity's Horizon
Remarkably, the Opportunity Mars rover lies in a
small martian
impact crater about 3 meters deep and 22 meters wide.
For 360 degrees,
Opportunity's horizon stretches to the right in this new
color mosaic image from the
rover's panoramic camera.
Notable in this view of the generally
dark, smooth terrain are
surface imprints left by the
lander's airbags and an
outcropping of light-colored, layered rock about 8 meters
away toward the northwest.
Though they look imposing, the rocks in
the tantalizing outcrop are only a few centimeters high and will
be dwarfed by the cart-sized rover
itself during future close-up investigations.
Opportunity has now rolled off its lander and, along with
the restored Spirit rover, is directly
exploring
the martian surface.