14 DAY TRIAL // Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, have recently released a new image of Murray Ridge, a formation on the surface of Mars that is currently being investigated by the rover Opportunity.
The ridge is located on the rim of Endeavour Crater, which the MER robot has been exploring for the past two years. It soars about 40 meters (130 feet) from the ground, and is not included entirely in this photo. The reason why this formation is interesting is that it sits on a geological boundary.
Opportunity now rests at the edge of the sandstone Martian plains called Meridiani Planum, right where they meet up with the convoluted rocks of the Endeavour Crater, one of the largest such features on the Red Planet.
This image was taken on October 3, on Opportunity's 3,446th Martian day, by the Panoramic Camera (PanCam) instrument on the robot's mast. The rover has been cruising Mars for the better part of 10 years, and is about to start a new winter on the surface of the Red Planet.