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	2008 Sky Almanac Pentax 10x50 binoculars McDonald Observatory logo cap

Like passengers stranded on an airport tarmac by passing storms, the Opportunity rover was stranded on the lip of a deep crater in July by a dust storm that covered much of Mars.

Opportunity arrived at the edge of Victoria crater last year, and spent months scooting around its perimeter. Mission scientists decided to send Opportunity into the crater to study the layers of exposed rock around its rim, which should provide evidence of conditions on Mars many millions of years ago.

By early July, however, powerful storms were filling Martian skies with dust, cutting the amount of sunlight reaching Opportunity’s electricity-producing solar cells by 99 percent. On July 18, the rover could generate only 128 watt-hours of electricity — barely enough to operate its heaters, which prevent its electronics from freezing.

The storm, which was less severe for Opportunity’s twin, Spirit, showed signs of abating late in the month, however.

If Opportunity survives the storm and enters the crater, it may never leave. Although mission planners think they have an escape route, the crater’s steep slopes may strand the rover.

A sequence of maps compiled (from top) on July 5, 12, 17, and 19 by the orbiting Mars Odyssey shows the evolution of the dust storm in the planet’s southern hemisphere. Red shows the thickest concentrations of dust.