spacetoday.net: Opportunity begins studies of Endeavour crater

Posted: Fri, Sep 2, 2011, 2:07 PM ET (1807 GMT)
Mars Exploration Rover (NASA/JPL)

NASA's long-lived Mars rover Opportunity has started studying a large crater it recently reached, providing scientists with new insights into the planet. Among the first rocks examined by Opportunity at the rim of crater Endeavour is one scientists said is different from any other examined to date: a volcanic rock with much higher concentrations of zinc and bromine than previously seen in other rocks. Scientists are hopeful studies of the crater, much larger than previous ones visited by the rover, will provide new clues into the early history of the planet, an era when it was warmer and may have had liquid water on its surface. Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004, has operated on Mars 30 times longer than originally planned and remains in good condition.