By DPA
Washington : NASA plans to send its Mars rover, Opportunity, on a risky journey into the planet's Victoria Crater, the US space agency said.
The 1.6-metre-long rover will descend into the crater, but it is unclear whether it will make it back out.
The scientific advantages outweigh the risks of having the rover stuck in the crater forever, NASA scientists said here Thursday. The Opportunity is to look for evidence that there was once water in the crater.
"We don't want this to be a one-way trip," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University and principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "We still have some excellent science targets out on the plains that we would like to visit after Victoria. But if Opportunity becomes trapped there, it will be worth the knowledge gained."
The rover has already operated for 12 times longer than its 90-day life expectancy.
In the next few days, it will slowly descend into the massive, rocky crater through an alcove known as Duck Bay that has 15 to 20 degree slopes and a rock bed safe for driving, project manager John Callas said.
The Victoria Crater was created by a meteor millions of years ago and is 800 metres wide.