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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Opportunity at Erebus

An October 2005 MOC Image Shows the MER-B Rover

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1260, 24 October 2005

Erebus Crater in Meridiani Planum, before and after Opportunity rover arrived
Erebus Crater in Meridiani Planum, before and after Opportunity rover arrived
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Enlargements showing MER-B rover (right) and appearance of site before rover arrived (left)
Enlargements showing MER-B rover (right) and appearance of site before rover arrived (left)
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Animated GIF, flickering between the before/after images
Animated GIF, flickering between the before/after images
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

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.

Additional Pictures:

Erebus - 2004 - no labels -- Erebus - 2004 - with labels
Erebus - 2005 - no labels -- Erebus - 2005 - with labels
MER - B - future location - no labels -- MER - B - future location - labels
MER - B - location - no labels -- MER - B - location - labels

Location near: 2.0°S, 5.6°W
100 meters bar = ~ 328 feet; 20 meters bar = ~ 66 feet
Illumination from: left/lower left
Season: Southern Summer in both images

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Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, California. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, California and Denver, Colorado.

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