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No Shortcut for Opportunity

Dec. 2, 2004
The possible exit path, pictured on the far right of this image where the outcrop is punctuated, was eventually deemed too hazardous for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to attempt.

As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity was making its way back toward its original entry path into "Endurance Crater," scientists and engineers spotted what they hoped might be a shortcut for climbing out of the crater. The possible exit path, pictured on the far right of this image where the outcrop is punctuated, was eventually deemed too hazardous for the rover to attempt. Opportunity would have had to cross terrain with a slope of 28 degrees and face a tall rock outcropping very close to the exit chute opening which, itself, is too narrow for the rover to pass. This stereo view combines several frames taken by the rover's navigation camera during Opportunity's 297th sol on Mars (Nov. 24, 2004). It is presented in a cylindrical-perspective projection with geometric seam correction. The location from which the image was taken has been designated as Opportunity's Site 38, Position 97.

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