The view of Columbia Hills from the MER-A landing site
The Columbia Hills are a range of low hills inside Gusev crater on Mars. They were discovered by the Mars Exploration RoverSpirit when it landed within the crater in 2004. The hills lie approximately 3 kilometres away from the Rover's original landing position, and Spirit journeyed toward them via the crater Bonneville. Spirit is currently driving down the side of Husband Hill, having reached the summit on sol (day) 581 of it's mission. Download high resolution version (1024x622, 170 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1024x622, 170 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about the crater on Mars. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Artists Concept of Rover on Mars (credit: Maas Digital LLC) NASAs Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission (since 2003) is an unmanned Mars exploration mission that includes sending two Rovers (robots) to explore the Martian surface and geology. ... MER-A (Spirit) is the first of the two Mars Exploration Rover Missions. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bonneville crater is a 200-metre impact crater on Mars. ...
The range is named to memorialize the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. On February 2, 2004, the individual peaks of the Columbia Hills were named after the seven astronauts who died in the disaster. These names are not yet official, but are expected to be approved by the IAU. Shuttle debris falling over Texas, on Time cover The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas on February 1, 2003, during reentry into the Earths atmosphere on its 28th mission, STS-107. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ...
Scientists believe that the hills are older than the surrounding plain, and holds clues to Gusev's more-distant past.
This false-color image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows a close-up of the rock dubbed "Pot of Gold" (upper left), which is located near the base of the "ColumbiaHills" in Gusev Crater.
So in figuring out how to embark on any sort of assault on the hills where you're looking for bedrock, you may have a particular bedrock outcrop, but the best route to get to it may not be the visually obvious one.
Numerous almost-buried craters observed on Gusev's floor lend support to the idea that the ColumbiaHills are the remains of an ancient impact crater rim, or possibly a central peak.
The hills partly parallel the rim of Thira crater, 9 miles (15 km) to the northeast.
This suggests the ColumbiaHills might be the eroded remnants of a once-widespread deposit of material.
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