Explanation:
The majestic walls of
Endurance Crater contain layers
of clues about the ancient past of
Mars.
In fact, the deeper the layer, the older the clue.
The particular crater wall
imaged above was dubbed
Burns Cliff and was in front of the
robot rover Opportunity last week.
Close inspection of different layers has found slightly different compositions as well as interesting trends in relative
compositions.
For example, deeper
layers contain similarly decreasing amounts of both
magnesium and
sulfur,
indicating a common reason for their decline -- possibly
dissolution
in water.
Today, more practically,
Burns Cliff blocks one exit direction for Opportunity to leave
Endurance Crater.
When combined with
slippery sand elsewhere on the crater floor, controllers have decided to
program Opportunity to
back out of the crater the way it came in - after a few more days exploration.
Geben wird es sie schon. Das Problem wird sein, dass solche Daten nicht öffentlich sind oder nur mit einer miesen Auflösung (1km/Pixel) zu bekommen sind. Zusätzlich werden detailierte Daten über interessante Gebiete (Geländedaten, niedrige Strahlung, Geologie, Wasser, etc..) sowieso nicht gern veröffentlicht.
