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Opportunity Takes a Dip Into Victoria Crater
Muad'Dave writes "From the NASA News Release 'Today, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time. It radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day. Opportunity drove far enough in — about four meters (13 feet) — to get all six wheels past the crater rim. Then it backed uphill for about three meters (10 feet). The driving commands for the day included a precaution for the rover to stop driving if its wheels were slipping more than 40 percent. Slippage exceeded that amount on the last step of the drive, so Opportunity stopped with its front pair of wheels still inside the crater.' This marks the beginning of perhaps the greatest 'Opportunity' for new discoveries on Mars."
Earth cant send probes to Mars each 26 months when the energy requirements are minimal. the last cycle they just sent two orbiters (getting interesting results). But next year they'll land near the polar and dig for water ice. The 2008 laneder has no wheels, but the next one in 2009 is the largest yet. Its the size of minivan and will use retro-rocket landers instead of air-bags, and will be mostly nuclear powered instead of solar.
I presume they'll keep a low-key program with current Rovers after May. Unexpected longevity complicates NASAs budget. Sometimes they turn them off before they are completely dead like Magellan and Galileo. (Actually they crashed them into Venus and Jupiter for terminal science experiment and to prevent contamination of Europa.)
Think of the crater as a nice hole already drilled down 20-50 meters or so. A geologist's (or in this case areologist's) dream: you can examine all the strata over a fairly wide horizontal range without having to pick up a pick or shovel (which Opportunity isn't carrying anyway).
Yes, what was once in the crater is now obviously outside the crater, but the ejecta was spread over a large area by the impact that created the crater, and of course that materials was subject to much more violent shock and heating. I expect it wouldn't tell you nearly as much as the layers inside the crater, even assuming you could distinguish between a thin smudge of ejecta and the surrounding desert floor. Any relationship between the layers (this comes above that, et cetera) is also only preserved inside the crater.
I'm afraid once Opportunity enters the crater that's the last of it's exploring days, roaming the surface of Mars
Probably. That's why they waited this long to try it. But they have to balance what they might learn driving around outside the crater and what they might learn driving into the crater (and not getting out). They've probably concluded they've learned about all there is to learn outside the crater, and if they can't get out, it's worth what they'll find in the crater.
Also bear in mind Opportunity's tools are wearing out, so its ability to do geology (as opposed to just sending back pictures) is coming to an end anyway.