The latest findings from NASA's Mars rover, Opportunity, were recently presented at the 45th annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, California.
Opportunity was launched in 2003 and is coming up on its ninth anniversary.
"Almost nine years into a mission planned to last for three months, Opportunity is fit and ready for driving, robotic-arm operations and communication with Earth," said the mission's deputy project scientist, Diana Blaney, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a statement from NASA.
Right now Opportunity is studying an area of great interest called Matijevic Hill which may hold clay minerals. These minerals form under non-acidic wet conditions which may also be able to sustain life. Researchers are now ready to start more detailed work to determine if there really is clay in this area.
Opportunity's leisurely drive around Matijevic Hill, a crater-rim site where the Mars orbiters detected traces of clay minerals.
The rover spotted this small crater along the way to Matijevic Hill.
A panoramic picture of Matijevic Hill shows Opportunity's tracks on the far right. So far the rover has traveled 22 miles.
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