Marathon Valley South

         This mosaic was acquired by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on Sol 4182 (October 29, 2015).  This scence looks upward at "Knudsen Ridge" on the southern edge of Marathon Valley.Knudsen Ridge forms a dramatic cap overlooking the 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer-wide) Endeavour Crater. Its informal naming honors the memory of Danish astrophysicist and planetary scientist Jens Martin Knudsen (1930-2005), a founding member of the science team for Opportunity and the twin rover Spirit. In this version, the landscape is presented in enhanced color to make differences in surface materials more easily visible. Reddish rock, such as within and between the knobs near the top of the scene, is what the rover team calls "red zone" material. Red zone locations in Marathon Valley correspond to locations of clay minerals mapped from orbit. This view spans from southeast on the left to southwest on the right. Pancam's 753nm, 535nm, and 432nm filters were used in making this mosaic.  Three versions are provided at full resolution: an approximate true color rendering, a false color rendering which enhances the subtle color differences in the scene, and a stereo anaglyph for 3D viewing through red-blue glasses.

Jim Bell
Pancam Instrument Lead
June 17, 2016