Endurance (Mars crater)
| Mars Crater Endurance | ||
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| Admission of the rover Opportunity | ||
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| position | 1 ° 54 ′ S , 5 ° 30 ′ W | |
| diameter | 130 m | |
| depth | 20 m | |
| history | ||
| Eponym | Endurance (ship) | |
Endurance is an impact crater on Mars . It is located in the Meridiani Planum , has a diameter of 130 meters and a depth of about 20 meters. It is named after the ship Endurance with which the British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton undertook his Imperial Transantarctic Expedition (1914–1917).
The Mars crater was explored by the Mars exploration rover Opportunity from June 15 ( Sol 135) to December 14, 2004 (Sol 315) .
Exploration through opportunity
Karatepe
After Opportunity had reached the crater, an exploration plan was first drawn up and the interesting locations to be investigated were determined. A location named "Karatepe" served as an entrance to the crater to analyze the bedrock of the crater in more detail.
The picture on the right shows changes in color in the layers. Layer “A” is closer to the rover and higher than layers “B” to “E”. The pattern and color of the layers vary with the depth of the layers. From this, the scientists can draw conclusions about the age of the layers by comparing this image with other layer images from Mars.
Then Opportunity drove deeper into the crater to take a closer look at sand dunes. Some rocks were analyzed on the descent. Then it was decided not to go into the sand dunes. There was a risk that the rover could get stuck and make further exploration by Opportunity impossible. For this reason, more rocks were examined before the rover made its way back to the rim of the crater. On its way, Opportunity came across a rock called “Wopmay”. This rock provided evidence that rocks within the crater may once have been surrounded by water shortly after the crater was formed. Then the rover headed for the Burns Cliff.
Burns Cliff
Burns Cliff, named after a late mineralogist Roger Burns of MIT , has been very thoroughly studied by Opportunity. The high risk of slipping through the sand prevented the use of the robot arm. However, high-resolution photos were taken with the pancam. These show layers of sediment that could have been created by previous occurrences of liquid.
The Burns Cliff was the final scientific stop in exploring the Endurance Crater.
