Victoria (crater)
Victoria is an impact crater on Mars located at 2.05°S, 5.50°W in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. This crater was first visited by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. It is roughly 800 metres (2,600 ft) wide, nearly eight times the size of the crater Endurance, visited by Opportunity from sols 951 to 1630. It is informally named after Victoria – one of the five Spanish ships of Ferdinand Magellan and the first ship to circumnavigate the globe – and formally named after Victoria, Seychelles. Along the edges of the crater are many outcrops within recessed alcoves and promontories, named for bays and capes that Magellan discovered.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) HiRISE image of Victoria on October 3, 2006 | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Region | Meridiani Planum |
| Coordinates | 2.05°S 5.50°W |
| Quadrangle | Margaritifer Sinus |
| Diameter | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| Depth | Approx. 70 m (230 ft) |
| Discoverer | Opportunity rover |
| Eponym | The ship Victoria and Victoria, Seychelles |
Opportunity traveled for 21 months to Victoria before finally reaching its edge on September 26, 2006 (sol 951), at the newly named "Duck Bay". Around the rover were features dubbed "No Name", "Duck Crater", "Emma Dean", "Maid of the Canyon", and "Kitty Clyde's Sister". It also imaged several nearby alcoves, informally named "Cape Verde" and "Cabo Frio", and a small bright crater the size of Beagle on the opposite end of Victoria.