Looking north at the southern end of Cape Tribulation (MER-B, 2017)
![PIA21490capes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/PIA21490capes.jpg)
Cape Tribulation is a section of the Western rim of
Endeavour crater
Endeavour is an impact crater located in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. Endeavour is about in diameter. Using ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' data, phy ...
on the planet Mars. The MER-B
''Opportunity'' rover spent 30 months exploring Cape Tribulation from 2014 to 2017. The top of Cape Tribulation is about 134 meters (440 feet) higher than the plains that surround the crater.
The MER-B ''Opportunity'' rover summited Cape Tribulation in January 2015, which was the highest Martian elevation achieved yet on its mission.
Then in March 2016 it accomplished the distance of a classic
marathon. Also in March 2016 it achieved the steepest slope traverse (32 degree) yet of its mission, surpassing the slope it took on at Burns Cliff in 2004. MER-B was trying to reach a target on Knudsen Ridge, on the south side of Marathon Valley, which meant attempting a steep grade which can cause wheel slippage.
Another effect of this angle was that sand and dust that had collected on the rover flowed in streaks over the back of the rover, such was the incline.
Examples of locations:
*Cape Tribulation Summit
*Marathon Valley
**Knudsen ridge
**Wharton Ridge
*Spirit of Saint Lois Crater
*Spirit Mount
Endeavour crater is a 14-mile (22 km) wide crater on Mars, that was explored by the MER-B Rover ''Opportunity'' in the 2010s, after landing on the planet in 2004.
Naming
Wdowiak Ridge
Wdowiak Ridge is a section of the Western rim and is a raised section about 500 feet (150 meters) long and about 40 feet (12 meters) above surroundings.
Summit
On Sol 3894 (Jan. 6, 2015) ''Opportunity'' reached the summit of "Cape Tribulation," which is 443 feet (135 meters) above "Botany Bay" level and the highest point yet reached by the rover on western rim of Endeavour Crater according to NASA.
Marathon valley
In 2015 MER-B entered Marathon Valley in Cape Tribulation and would study it until September 2016.
Marathon Valley was targeted for exploration by MER-B because
CRISM
The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is a visible-infrared spectrometer aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter searching for mineralogic indications of past and present water on Mars. The CRISM instrument team compris ...
instrument in orbit on the ''
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
'' detected clay minerals at this location.
Spirit of St. Louis Crater
Along Cape Tribulation, at the west end of Marathon Valley is a shallow crater about 110 feet (34 meters) long and about 80 feet (24 meters) wide, named "Spirit of St. Louis" after
the record-breaking aircraft.
Within its center is a rock spire and the regolith in the crater has a darkened hue.
The crater is on the outer edge of the Western rom of Endeavour crater.
The MER-B rover reached it in April 2015 and took panoramic color photos of the site.
Additional NASA team named features:
*Marathon Monument
*
Donald A Hall
*Lindbergh Mound
*
Roosevelt Field
Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
*Lambert Field
*Harry H Knight
*Harold M Bixby
Context map
Mineral map
See also
*
Cape York (Mars)
Cape York is a location on Mars, on the western rim of Endeavour crater. The ''Opportunity'' rover spent about two years exploring this portion of the rim in the early 2010s before moving south. The CRISM instrument on the ''Mars Reconnaissance ...
*
Cape Tribulation (Earth)
External links
Sol 4766 – Exploring the Entrance to Perseverance Valley ''Opportunity'' Mars Rover Presses On Toward Rich Science Targets Despite Episodic AmnesiaCape tribulation as seen from the south east
References
{{Features visited by Opportunity
Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle
Mars Exploration Rover mission