spacetoday.net: Spirit crests Martian hill

Posted: Fri, Sep 2, 2005, 8:54 AM ET (1254 GMT)
Spirit view from Husband Hill (NASA/JPL)

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has reached the top of a hill overlooking Gusev Crater as project scientists plot out the rover's future path, NASA announced Thursday. Spirit reached the top of Husband Hill, named after STS-107 commander Rick Husband, in late August. The hill is 82 meters above the plain of Gusev Crater, where Spirit landed in January 2004. During the ascent the rover found a number of different rock types which showed evidence of past water in the area, evidence obscured in the plain of the crater by volcanic debris. Project scientists are studying a number of routes down the hill to the south, including one that leads to a feature dubbed "Home Plate" that could be a rock plateau or filled-in crater.