Panorama from 'Cape Verde' (False Color)
1/3/07
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria
Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that
are part of the scalloped rim of the crater. Opportunity drove onto Cape
Verde shortly after arriving at the rim of Victoria in September 2006. The
view combines hundreds of exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera
(Pancam). The camera began taking the component images during
Opportunity's 970th Martian day, or sol, on Mars (Oct. 16, 2006). Work on
the panorama continued through the solar conjunction period, when Mars was
nearly behind the sun from Earth's perspective and communications were
minimized. Acquisition of images for this panorama was completed on
Opportunity's 991st sol (Nov. 7, 2006).
The top of Cape Verde is in the immediate foreground at the center of the
image. To the left and right are two of the more gradually sloped bays
that alternate with the cliff-faced capes or promontories around the rim
of the crater. "Duck Bay," where Opportunity first reached the rim, is to
the right. Beyond Duck Bay counterclockwise around the rim, the next
promontory is "Cabo Frio," about 150 meters (500 feet) from the rover. On
the left side of the panorama is "Cape St. Mary," the next promontory
clockwise from Cape Verde and about 40 meters (130 feet) from the rover.
The vantage point atop Cape Verde offered a good view of the rock layers
in the cliff face of Cape St. Mary, which is about 15 meters or 50 feet
tall. By about two weeks after the Pancam finished collecting the images
for this panorama, Opportunity had driven to Cape St. Mary and was
photographing Cape Verde's rock layers.
The far side of the crater lies about 800 meters (half a mile) away,
toward the southeast.
This view combines images taken through three of the Pancam's filters,
admitting light with wavelengths centered at 750 nanometers (near
infrared), 530 nanometers (green) and 430 nanometers (violet). It is
presented in false color to emphasize differences among materials in the
rocks and soils.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell
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