The expected long journey to Opportunity

Opportunity, the robotic all-terrain vehicle patrolling Mars, is about to depart for a crater 12 kilometers away as the crow flies from its current location. It doesn't seem like much, but it will take him two years to get there, if he holds out

The Opportunity rover is about to start up again and travel to a crater 12 kilometers from its current location. This is a similar distance to that traveled since its landing in 2004. However, the scientists are still waiting for the call to go. "We may not get there, but scientifically this is the right direction to go anyway." says Steven Skirs, principal investigator of the scientific instruments on Opportunity and its twin brother Spirit.

For an aging vehicle, this is a high bar, but it is possible that this is a journey and not a destination. "This is a much more aggressive target than we previously knew." said John Callas, vehicle project manager. This is something particularly exciting, this is a new science. This is the next challenge for these robotic rangers.

"The crater is large in scale compared to anything we've seen before." The crater, known as Andover is a crater with a diameter of 22 kilometers. "I would be happy to see the view from the rim of the crater" says Squires.

"But even if we don't get there, the more we vow, the more we expect to reach younger and younger rock layers on the surface. Also, there are larger craters to the south and we think they are the source of the smooth stones we want to explore. Some of these smooth stones are samples from deeper layers than Opportunity will be able to see, and we expect to find more such smooth stones as we dream.

The vehicle team estimates that there is a good probability that Opportunity will be able to move about a hundred meters per day towards Endeavor Crater. Even at this rate, the journey could take two years. But why not go for it, and see how long the car can survive?

The two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are far beyond their planned operating time and it is possible that Opportunity will not be able to continue operating for the entire time needed to reach the crater. However, two resources that were not available during the six-kilometer journey he made towards the Victoria Crater in 2005 and 2006 are expected to help him in the new journey.

The first resource is images from space of small details of the vehicle itself, using the high resolution camera (HiRISE) aboard NASA's MRO (Mars Rover) satellite, which arrived on Mars in 2006. "HiRISE will allow us to identify driving routes and potential obstacles at the scale of the vehicle along the route" says Callas. "This is a great example of how different parts of NASA's Mars exploration program affect other parts."

The second resource that Opportunity has is a stronger "brain" that allows her to drive better on the plains of Mars. A new version of flight software was uploaded to Opportunity and Spirit in 2006 and accelerated the robotic vehicles' ability to autonomously choose lanes and avoid obstacles such as sand dunes."

During its first year on Mars, Opportunity discovered geological evidence that the area where it landed contained water on and below the surface in the distant past. The discoveries he has made since then have added data about how the environment has changed over time. The study of stone layers in the landing area is already progressing and has opened a window into early and late periods on Mars.

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