Mars Opportunity Rover’s Long Tracks on Crater Rim

From a ridgeline viewpoint, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recently recorded a scene looking back over its own tracks made from nearly half-a-mile (more than 700 meters) of southbound driving.
The video begins with a view from orbit of the 25-mile journey Opportunity has made since landing in 2004. The view then shifts to ground level showing several hundred yards of the rover’s tracks made along the rim of Endeavour Crater. Opportunity is now exploring Murray Ridge.

Opportunity’s panoramic camera (Pancam) recorded the component images on Aug. 15, 2014, from an elevated portion of the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The video places the scene into context with the rover’s entire driving route of more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) since the mission’s 2004 landing in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars.

The Pancam image in approximate true color is available at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA18604

The Opportunity mission has been investigating outcrops on the western rim of Endeavour Crater for three years. The crater spans 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter. During Opportunity’s first decade on Mars and the 2004-to-2010 career of its twin, Spirit, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project yielded a range of findings proving wet environmental conditions on ancient Mars — some very acidic, others milder and more conducive to supporting life.

Download: PIA18605 – Rover Tracks in Northward View Along West Rim of Endeavour, False Color