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Science 22 May 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5930, pp. 1058 - 1061
DOI: 10.1126/science.1170355
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Reports
Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Mars Rover Opportunity
S. W. Squyres,1,*
A. H. Knoll,2
R. E. Arvidson,3
J. W. Ashley,4
J. F. Bell, III,1
W. M. Calvin,5
P. R. Christensen,4
B. C. Clark,6
B. A. Cohen,7
P. A. de Souza, Jr.,8
L. Edgar,9
W. H. Farrand,10
I. Fleischer,11
R. Gellert,12
M. P. Golombek,13
J. Grant,14
J. Grotzinger,9
A. Hayes,9
K. E. Herkenhoff,15
J. R. Johnson,15
B. Jolliff,3
G. Klingelhöfer,11
A. Knudson,4
R. Li,16
T. J. McCoy,17
S. M. McLennan,18
D. W. Ming,19
D. W. Mittlefehldt,19
R. V. Morris,19
J. W. Rice, Jr.,4
C. Schröder,11
R. J. Sullivan,1
A. Yen,13
R. A. Yingst20
The Mars rover Opportunity has explored Victoria crater, a ~750-meter eroded impact crater formed in sulfate-rich sedimentary rocks. Impact-related stratigraphy is preserved in the crater walls, and meteoritic debris is present near the crater rim. The size of hematite-rich concretions decreases up-section, documenting variation in the intensity of groundwater processes. Layering in the crater walls preserves evidence of ancient wind-blown dunes. Compositional variations with depth mimic those ~6 kilometers to the north and demonstrate that water-induced alteration at Meridiani Planum was regional in scope.
2 Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
3 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63031, USA.
4 School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
5 University of Nevada, Reno, Geological Sciences, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
6 Lockheed Martin Corporation, Littleton, CO 80127, USA.
7 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA.
8 Tasmanian Information and Communication Technologies Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Castray Esplanade, Hobart TAS 7000, Australia.
9 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
10 Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
11 Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
12 Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
13 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
14 Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
15 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
16 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
17 Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA.
18 Department of Geosciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
19 Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
20 Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Green Bay, WI 54311, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: squyres{at}astro.cornell.edu
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