Mars Rover: Zoomable image

9 July 2012 Last updated at 08:13 ET
Mars Rover: Zoomable image

This panoramic shot of the surface of Mars shows an impact crater blasted billions of years ago - and the fresh tracks created by Nasa's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Use the zoom tool to see the view in more detail.

The scene, which is made up of 817 images taken between December 2011 and May 2012, also includes the rover's own solar arrays and deck in the foreground. Its publication coincided with Opportunity completing its 3,000th day on Mars.

Opportunity has been stationed on an outcrop called Greeley Haven, on the rim of the ancient Endeavour Crater.

Jim Bell, lead scientist for the rovers' Pancam instrument, from Arizona State University, Tempe, said: "The view provides rich geologic context for the detailed chemical and mineral work that the team did at Greeley Haven over the rover's fifth Martian winter, as well as a spectacularly detailed view of the largest impact crater that we've driven to yet with either rover over the course of the mission."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18770046