PIA05869: 'Burns Cliff' Beckons


‘Burns Cliff’ Beckons

Caption:

This approximate true-color image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity highlights a feature called "Burns Cliff" within the impact crater known as "Endurance." Scientists are eager to explore this layered ridge for clues to the red planet's past. The only problem is its location: Burns Cliff is a vertical drop, which poses an interesting challenge for rover planners. Burns Cliff was named after the late scientist Roger Burns, who was one of the first to correctly propose the importance of sulfate and jarosite to the study of Mars' geologic history.

This image is a portion of a larger mosaic taken with the panoramic camera's 480-, 530- and 750-nanometer filters on sols 97 and 98.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Opportunity (MER-B)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Crater, Impact
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-05-06
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05869
Identifier PIA05869