.gif)
Thira (crater)
Encyclopedia
Thira is a crater
on Mars
. It is located within the larger crater Gusev. It is named after the town of Fira
on the island of Santorini
, Greece
.
Thira is about 20km east of the landing site of NASA
's Spirit rover
. The rim of the crater can be seen in the distance in images taken by Spirit.
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
on Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. It is located within the larger crater Gusev. It is named after the town of Fira
Fira
Firá is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island, Santorini. It is a traditional settlement. "Firá", actually, is a different pronunciation of "Thíra", the ancient name of the island itself....
on the island of Santorini
Santorini
Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Thira is about 20km east of the landing site of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Spirit rover
Spirit rover
Spirit, MER-A , is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity , landed on the other side of the planet...
. The rim of the crater can be seen in the distance in images taken by Spirit.