Opportunity's Rear-Facing View Ahead After a Drive

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this scene looking farther southward just after completing a southward drive, in reverse, during the 3,749th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 10, 2014).

The foreground of this view from the rover's mast-mounted navigation camera (Navcam) includes the top of the rover's low-gain antenna, at lower right, and the rear portion of the rover's deck, with the sundial of a camera calibration target. For scale, the largest of the sundial's concentric rings has an outer diameter of 3.15 inches (8 centimeters).

The ground beyond the rover includes some windblown lines of sand. At the horizon is part of the crest line of the west ridge of Endeavour Crater. The Sol 3749 drive covered 338 feet (103 meters) along the outer slope of the crater rim. A map of the area with the Sol 3749 endpoint marked is available online at http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/tm-opportunity/opportunity-sol3751.html.

JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov.