Duck Bay

Spirit and Opportunity (the two NASA rovers on Mars) are still operating, delivering more science products on a bad day than the space station delivers in a good month. They landed over three years ago, and were designed to last just 90 days -- but the plucky little guys are still going strong.

Opportunity is still in very good condition (Spirit has a lame wheel and some power challenges). For several months it has been exploring the rim of Victoria Crater (at right), about four miles from where it landed. This meteorite crater exposes layers of interesting rocks that the geologists are learning a great deal from. Now they've decided to "take the plunge" into the crater itself, because they believe there's even more interesting stuff to learn from within the crater.

To date, the missions have been very careful to avoid risky circumstances. This time, however, they are deliberately taking a calculated risk -- the rough terrain and sand dunes could entrap the rover, and there's a real chance that Opportunity might not be able to drive out of the crater once it's in. But the chance for some good science has convinced the folks at NASA that it's a chance worth taking...

After much careful study, they've selected "Duck Bay" as the most likely entry point into the crater. You can read about this new adventure here. Wikipedia has an entry on Victoria Crater here.

Good fortune and smooth sailing, Opportunity!