Friday, Oct. 6, 2006Meet Me at Victoria Crater

We haven't heard much news from Mars lately, but that's only because the two most important missions exploring the red planet have been getting themselves into position for some spectacular imagery--and it all came together today, as NASA presented extraordinary pictures from on the ground and from orbit of Victoria Crater.

The ground photos come from the Opportunity rover, which has taken nearly ten months to wheel over to the half-mile wide crater, the remnant of an ancient impact, on Meridiani Planum near the equator of Mars. That's pretty impressive, given that Opportunity was only desinged to operate for 90 days; it landed in January, 2004, which means it's closing in on three years of operation. Despite some aging parts, mission scientists plan to drive it right down into the crater, to study ancient rock layers exposed in the crater walls--far deeper layers than anything yet seen.

At the same time, though the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been nudging itself into the right orbit since last March, has finally taken some of its first, unprecendentely high-resolution images from about 180 miles straight up. They're so stunningly clear, in fact, that you can see the five-foot-high Opportunity, its shadow, and its tracks, leading up to the crater. Over the next few years, the Orbiter will cover the entire planet, creating an extraordinary map of the Red planet that can be used for study and for planning future exploration.

I can't wait.

—M.L.