March 4, 2016: Opportunity Scales Knudsen Ridge and Rocks On: As the Martian winter slowly begins to recede, Opportunity is working away on the steep slopes of Knudsen Ridge at the southern end of Marathon Valley, showing her mettle in some of the most challenging terrain of the Mars Exploration Rover’s 12+ years on the Red Planet.
The veteran robot field geologist spent February in a mostly stationary position on a slope taking images of potential targets nearby, as well as additional images for the Knudsen Ridge Panorama with her Panoramic Camera (Pancam), and studying a rock. (…)
The MER team has been zeroing in on intriguing “red zones.” These areas, rich with deep red bands or stripes, seem to speak of past flowing water. And, the scientists are confident that they will find the rocks and materials in these zones are harboring the evidence they need to prove the presence of clay minerals there long, long ago.
“We’re hoping to take advantage of the steep topography that Mars provides us at Knudsen Ridge to get to a better example of the red zone material,” said Steve Squyres, MER principal investigator of Cornell University. [More at link]