'Earhart' Rock

This false-color image taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock informally named "Earhart" on the lower slopes of "Endurance Crater." The rock was named after the pilot Amelia Earhart. Like "Escher" and other rocks dotting the bottom of Endurance, scientists believe fractures in Earhart could have been formed by one of several processes. They may have been caused by the impact that created Endurance Crater, or they might have arisen when water leftover from the rock's formation dried up. A third possibility is that much later, after the rock was formed, and after the crater was created, the rock became wet once again, then dried up and developed cracks. Rover team members do not have plans to investigate Earhart in detail because it is located across potentially hazardous sandy terrain. This image was taken on sol 219 (Sept. 4) by the rover's panoramic camera, using its 750-, 530- and 430-nanometer filters.