.jpg) Panorama taken byOpportunity rover on December 18th, 2010 | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Region | Meridiani Planum |
| Coordinates | 2°10′19″S5°26′42″W / 2.172°S 5.445°W /-2.172; -5.445 |
| Quadrangle | Margaritifer Sinus |
| Diameter | 90 meters (295 feet) |
| Discoverer | Opportunity rover |
| Eponym | Santa Maria, a ship used byChristopher Columbus during his crossing of theAtlantic in 1492. |
Santa Maria is animpact crater onMars, located at 2.172°S, 5.445°W within theMeridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, lying situated within theMargaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region.
This geological feature was first visited by theMars Exploration RoverOpportunity. It sits north west of the much largerEndeavour crater. The crater measures about 80–90 m (260–300 ft) across. Its name has not been officially recognized by theWorking Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.[1]
Opportunity arrived at the crater on December 15, 2010.[2] The rover was positioned at the south eastern rim, where it took several images and prepared for the oncomingSolar Conjunction. The last communication made before the conjunction was on February 3, 2011.[3] Communications resumed around a week later, and the rover performed several in-situ studies of the rocks "Luis de Torres" and "Ruiz Garcia". The rover left the crater on March 22, heading eastwards towards Endeavour crater.
Features onMars visited byOpportunity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Craters |   | |
| Endeavour | ||
| Rocks(list) | ||
 | This article about animpact crater onMars or its moons is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
