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rejuvenating the power to the rover. This was an unexpected and happy event for the team.
Opportunity has also made astronomical observations. These include the transits of both natural satellites,
Phobos and Deimos, across the face of the Sun. The rover’s cameras have also photographed the Earth,
which appears as an indistinct bright object in the Martian sky. This reminds us of how small we really are.
Some of the major craters that Opportunity has visited include, Endurance Crater, Erebus Crater, Victoria
Crater, and Endeavour Crater. More recently at Endeavour Crater, Opportunity discovered a bright vein of
gypsum. This has been nicknamed “Homestake Vein”. The identification of this substance is more strong
evidence of water on Mars in the past. Another recent discovery, in September 2012, at Endeavour Crater
is a very dense accumulation of spherules that are different than the hematite spherules previously discovered. It is stated that the spherules in question have a soft middle and crunchy outer layer. They are
still being investigated as to what their composition is. Opportunity has endured a harsh climate and survived, perhaps thrived. When I asked Dr. Steve Squyres, NASA’s Principal Investigator of the MER mission,
about the health of Opportunity at the 16th Annual Mars Society Convention in August 2013, he stated that
with the exception of a few minor issues, the overall health is good and that each day with Opportunity
is a gift. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbr9CEjI6c) The credit for this must be given to the hundreds or thousands of passionate scientists who designed, developed, and implemented this mission. The
Opportunity Rover is managed by a team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Ca. On January 16,
2014, NASA held a special event to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
Spirit and Opportunity. Though we had our last communication with Spirit in March 2010, Opportunity is
still roving and discovering. Squyres, spoke at the event held at CalTech and revealed the latest big news
was that a jelly-donut-like rock seemed to have appeared out of nowhere near the rover. Squyres described
the rock as white around the edges with a dark red-center which has the size and appearance of a jellydonut. He stated that his team was very surprised and when they did the preliminary analysis they discovered it was composed of sulfur, magnesium, and manganese. They are discussing the possibilities of
how the rock arrived next to the rover, two leading theories are that it was flung from under the wheel of
ICY SCIENCE | QTR 1 2014