Beagle ( Eng. Beagle ) - a relatively large Martian impact crater located on the plateau of Meridian .
| Beagle? | |
|---|---|
 Beagle Crater, taken from orbit by the MRO apparatus, HiRISE high-resolution camera. Little Crater Left - Beta Crater | |
| Specifications | |
| Diameter | 0.035 km |
| Type of | Shock |
| Title | |
| Eponym | Ship Beagle and Beagle-2 [1] |
| Location | |
| Heavenly body | Mars |
Content
Geography
The crater is located on a vast flat terrain, called the Meridian Plateau . The coordinates of the crater - . The crater is located 1694 m southeast of the Erebus crater and 870 m east of the large Victoria Crater. Not far, to the west of it, there are two small craters - Waco ( 85 m ) and Beta ( 33 m ).
Crater Research
The diameter of the crater is about 35 meters . The crater visited the Opportunity rover and in the period from July 30 to August 12, 2006 (894–906 sol ) studied it. During this period of time, the rover took panoramic pictures of the crater and the surrounding area, used a drilling tool (RAT) on mountain outcrops, the result of which was photographed with a micro camera, studied the geological nature of the surface using a panoramic camera (spectroscopic measurements), which photographs using various filters, and also attempted to capture the Martian clouds, which were unsuccessful. In addition, the rover used its own miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) [1] . The studies were carried out to determine the composition of the rocks, as well as to determine whether the Beagle crater was formed on the surface of the Meridian plateau , or in the “blanket” of emissions of clastic material from the Victoria Crater [1] . The rover did not call inside the crater. Although the satellite crater looks pretty young from satellite images, but after a direct inspection of the crater by the rover, it became clear that it is a moderately eroded crater. The walls of the crater have settled, and the center of the crater is filled with sand dunes. However, the walls of the crater still remain slightly elevated, and in several places (for example, on the inner left edge), mountain outcrops appear to have been preserved directly inside the crater. A lot of rock is scattered around and inside the crater, which was ejected upon impact, which formed this crater. This fine-grained surface is in many respects similar to that observed by Opportunity and earlier on the Meridian plateau [1] . Many of these rocks were smoothed by wind erosion. Wind erosion also forms sand dunes that accumulate among rocks and stones. By analyzing how much the crater and its edges are covered, scientists can estimate how long its surface has been eroded [1] .
Eponym
The crater is named after the Beagle , on which Charles Darwin made expeditions around the world. This crater is also named after the British Beagle-2 descent vehicle, which in 2003, after a successful landing on Mars , didn’t get in touch, reminding us what a difficult task space exploration could be [1] .
| Sand Dunes Inside the Beagle Crater, August 10, 2006 (905 sol ) [3] | Opportunity opposite this crater with a manipulator deployed for research, August 3, 2006 (898 sol ) | Opportunity’s first “look” at Beagle Crater, June 20, 2006 (855 sol ) [1] . In addition, Waco and Beta are viewed. | Opportunity's farewell “look” at Beagle Crater, August 13, 2006 (907 sol ) |
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Of Craters and Erosion: Opportunity Examines "Beagle" (inaccessible link) . NASA / JPL . Archived January 6, 2016.
- ↑ Beagle Crater Rim . NASA / JPL / Cornell . Archived December 20, 2015.
- ↑ Beagle Crater Dunes . NASA / JPL / Cornell . Archived December 20, 2015.