NASA says the next science assignment for its long-lived Mars rover Opportunity is a further examination of an area where the robot just completed a walkabout. Presenting the rover\'s current activities at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Steve Squyres, the mission\'s principal investigator at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said Opportunity had successfully completed its recent marching orders. \"If you are a geologist studying a site like this, one of the first things you do is walk the outcrop, and that\'s what we\'ve done with Opportunity,\" he said. Opportunity, still is a capable robotic explorer after nine years on Mars, has been investigating a crater-rim site where observations from orbiting Mars spacecraft detected traces of minerals that form under wet, non-acidic conditions that can be favorable for life. Opportunity drove about 1,160 feet in a counterclockwise circuit around the crater rim region in October and November, bringing the total miles driven on the mission to 22. \"We\'ve got a list of questions posed by the observations so far,\" Squyres said. \"We did this walkabout to determine the most efficient use of time to answer the questions. Now we have a good idea what we\'re dealing with, and we\'re ready to start the detailed work.\" NASA launched Opportunity and its sister rover Spirit in 2003 on a mission to learn about the history of wet environments on ancient Mars. NASA landed its Curiosity rover on the Red Planet in August.
GMT 20:46 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
New app to help Indians apply for UAE jobs visaGMT 21:37 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Champagne box-sized satellite launchedGMT 21:32 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Man's best friend goes high techGMT 16:11 2018 Friday ,12 January
UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science leads the way to new scientific and technological horizonsGMT 09:35 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
SpaceX launches secretive Zuma missionGMT 21:38 2018 Friday ,05 January
Our reliance on technology is having an effect on us allGMT 07:47 2017 Sunday ,24 December
China jails VPN owner for over five yearsGMT 20:59 2017 Saturday ,25 November
Now make unlimited voice, video calls in UAE for Dh50

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor