NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Opportunity at Erebus

Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) B vehicle, has
recently been exploring along the rim of a shallow crater
named Erebus.
Using sightlines to features within this crater,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist Timothy Parker
and the JPL rover engineers determined
where the rover was located within a MOC image acquired
back in January 2004, shortly after the landing (above, left).

On 5 October 2005, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired a cPROTO (compensated
Pitch and ROll Targeted) image of Erebus crater and its
surroundings (above, right). The image has a spatial
resolution of about 0.5 meters per pixel. The rover,
approximately 1.5 by 2.5 meters (5 by 8 feet) in size,
can be seen as a small, dark feature in the 5 October image.
It was located exactly where Tim Parker had indicated,
based on sightlines to features seen by the rover’s cameras.

The tracks the rover made in driving south to reach
Erebus Crater are not visible because the surface is dark
and the disturbed location of the tracks is not sufficiently
darker to be seen.