[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - November 29, 2007

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:10:34 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200711292210.OAA19897_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html#opportunity

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Rover Perseveres Despite Stall in Robotic Arm -
sol 1355-1360, Nov 29, 2007:

Opportunity spent much of the week conducting ongoing studies of a layer
of rock known as "Smith," part of a "bathtub ring" of rocks that
circumvent "Victoria Crater" beneath the rim. Opportunity acquired
images and studied the composition and abundance of iron-bearing
minerals in the rock.

During tests of the rock abrasion tool on the Earthbound engineering
rover similar to the rover on Mars, engineers discovered that unbending
the brush on Opportunity's rock abrasion tool may not be possible.
Instead of brushing the surface of a new rock target known as "Smith2,"
rover handlers opted to proceed directly to grinding the rock surface
during the coming weekend, on sol 1368 (Nov. 29, 2007).

On Sol 1359 (Nov. 20, 2007), a joint in Opportunity's robotic arm (Joint
1) that controls azimuth (left-right motion) stalled during the
acquisition of microscopic images of the unground surface of Smith2.
Plans called for the rover to acquire the rest of the microscopic images
on sol 1366 (Nov. 27, 2007). After the stall, the rover acquired
information about the atmosphere rather than the rock target with the
alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol-by-sol summary:

In addition to morning uplinks directly from Earth via the rover's
high-gain antenna, evening downlinks to Earth via the Odyssey orbiter at
UHF frequencies, and standard panoramic-camera measurements of
atmospheric opacity caused by dust, Opportunity completed the following
activities:

Sol 1355 (Nov. 16, 2007): Opportunity placed the Moessbauer spectrometer
back on the rock target known as "Smith" and acquired data for 11 hours
with the instrument. Opportunity used the navigation camera to determine
the rover's attitude by looking at the sun, searched the sky for clouds
with the navigation camera, and surveyed the horizon with the panoramic
camera.

Sol 1356: Opportunity spent 12 hours collecting data from Smith with the
Moessbauer spectrometer and acquired super-resolution images of "Cape
Verde," a promontory on the rim of Victoria Crater. The rover used the
navigation camera to search the sky for clouds and estimate the rover's
attitude relative to the sun. Opportunity acquired super-resolution
images of "Cabo Frio," another promontory on the rim of Victoria Crater,
and took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera.

Sol 1357: Opportunity spent 12 hours collecting data from Smith with the
Moessbauer spectrometer and used the navigation camera to search the sky
for clouds and measure the rover's attitude by looking at the sun. The
rover took more super-resolution images of Cabo Frio and thumbnail
images of the sky with the panoramic camera.

Sol 1358: Opportunity spent 12 hours collecting data from Smith with the
Moessbauer spectrometer and used the navigation camera to search the sky
for clouds and measure the rover's attitude by looking at the sun. The
rover acquired super-resolution images of Cape Verde and surveyed the
horizon with the panoramic camera. Opportunity scanned the sky for
clouds with the navigation camera.

Sol 1359: Opportunity switched to a different target of study, a nearby
clean spot of rock surface nicknamed Smith2. While the rover was
acquiring image mosaics of the rock target with the microscopic imager,
the shoulder joint of the robotic arm stalled. The rover acquired 12
hours worth of compositional data from the Martian atmosphere with the
alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. The next morning, the rover
calibrated the panoramic camera by taking images in darkness, scanned
the sky for clouds using the navigation camera, monitored dust on the
rover mast, and took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera.

Sol 1360 (Nov. 21, 2007): Opportunity acquired a mosaic of images of a
target called "Paolo's Pan" with the panoramic camera and calibrated the
panoramic camera by taking images in darkness. The rover scanned the sky
for clouds with the navigation camera. The next morning, Opportunity was
slated to use the navigation camera to estimate the rover's attitude by
looking at the sun.

Odometry:

As of sol 1359 (Nov. 20, 2007), Opportunity's total odometry remained at
11,584.32 meters (7.2 miles).
Received on Thu 29 Nov 2007 05:10:34 PM PST