Explanation:
What have we found on the way to large Victoria Crater?
Smaller Beagle Crater.
The robotic
Opportunity rover rolling across
Mars stopped at Beagle Crater early last month and took an
impressively detailed 360-degree
panorama of the alien Martian landscape.
Beagle crater appears in the center as a dip exposing relatively
dark sand.
Surrounding 35-meter Beagle Crater are many of the rocks ejected during its creation impact.
Opportunity's
detailed images
show significant
erosion on the rocks and walls of
Beagle Crater, indicating that the crater is not fresh.
Beagle Crater's
unofficial name derives from the ship
HMS Beagle where
Charles Darwin
observations led him to postulate his theory of
natural selection.
That ship was named after the dog breed of
beagle.
Opportunity is scheduled to roll up to expansive
Victoria Crater this week.
