Information AboutEagle Crater |
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The crater is located on Meridiani Planum . Scientists are delighted that the rover landed there, as the crater contains rocky outcroppings (see section on ''Opportunity Ledge'' under MER-B ) that helped prove that Meridiani was once an Ocean Floor . The name is a triple reference: in honor of the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon in 1969 ; in honor of the launching country, the United States , whose symbol is an eagle; and in reference to the golf term ''eagle'', referring to sinking a ball two strokes under par. The third reference extended the golf metaphor begun with a description of landing in Eagle crater as "a hole in one." SEE ALSO |