Explanation:
You stare out across the rocky plains of Mars.
Before you, in every direction, is dark sand and bright rock.
Although little has changed here for millions of years, no one has ever seen
this view before.
You are being sent on a
long journey to a distant crater, the largest crater in the region.
Your human overlords
back on planet Earth wonder if the impact that created this distant crater might have also uncovered unique clues to the
distant past of Earth's neighboring planet, clues that might reveal if
life ever existed here.
Breaking the
monotony, visible toward the image center,
an unusual rock sticks out from the landscape.
Quite possibly,
this rock
is not from this world, and you divert to
inspect it.
You are the robotic
Opportunity rover, and you are the eyes for
countless humans following your trek back on planet Earth.
Rolling about a
football field
a day, you might reach
Endeavour crater sometime in 2012.
If you survive.
Observation Deck:
See recent image submissions to APOD
