NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Spirit Digs A Trench

A view from the front hazard avoidance camera of NASA's Spirit rover on its 47th sol (martian day) shows a trench excavated by the rover's left front wheel in an area known as "Laguna Hollow." The trench, dubbed "Road Cut," is 7 centimeters (3 inches) deep. The soil at this location is more cohesive than the material where Spirit's twin, Opportunity, dug its first trench at the Meridiani Planum landing site. Spirit made 11 back-and-forth passes to dig this trench, and still did not produce as deep a hole as Opportunity dug in 6 passes.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL

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