Opportunity Leaves a Trail of 'Rat' Holes
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rock abrasion tool, known informally as the "Rat," has nibbled seven holes into the slope of "Endurance Crater." This image from the rover's navigation camera was released previously (PIA06716) without the Rat holes labeled so that viewers could try to find the holes themselves. Here, the holes have been identified. Starting from the uppermost pictured (closest to the crater rim) to the lowest, the Rat hole targets are: "Tennessee," "Cobblehill," "Virginia," "London," "Grindstone," "Kettlestone," and "Drammensfjorden." These holes were drilled on sols 138 (June 13, 2004), 143 (June 18), 145 (June 20), 148 (June 23), 151 (June 26), 153 (June 28) and 161 (July 7), respectively. Each hole is 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter.
Image credit: NASA/JPL
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