Explanation:
Broken metal and scorched
Mars
make the impact site of Opportunity's heat shield one
of the more interesting sites inspected by the
rolling robot.
Visible on the image left is the conical outer hull of the shattered
heat shield expelled by
Opportunity as it plummeted toward Mars last year.
Scrolling right will show not only another section of the
heat shield but the
impact site itself.
The site is of interest partly because
its creation was relatively well understood.
The impact splattered subsurface light red dirt,
while a darker material appears to track toward the large debris.
Behind the impromptu space exhibit lies a vast
alien landscape of featureless plains and
rust-tinted sky.
