[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - May 1-7, 2008

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 17:08:30 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200805140008.RAA29039_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Gearing Up for Attempt to Move Robotic
Arm - sol 1511-1517, May 01-07, 2008:

After completing a battery of diagnostic tests, engineers planned to
attempt to move Opportunity's shoulder azimuth joint, also known as
Joint 1, during the coming week.

Tests during the past week included electrical resistance tests at the
warmest and coldest times of day to determine if a persistent stall in
the joint was dependent on temperature. Test results indicated that
electrical resistance in the shoulder motor at the warmest time of day
approached normal levels.

A series of mild dust-cleaning events gave power levels a slight boost.
The dust factor -- a measure of the amount of sunlight actually
penetrating dust on the solar panels -- was about 73 percent. As
recently as Martian day, or sol, 1486 (March 29, 2008), the dust factor
was only 69 percent. Average solar-array energy during the past week was
nearly 385 watt-hours, almost enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for
four hours.

Opportunity conducted a variety of remote-sensing activities, including
photometric observations at varying times of day, soil observations,
horizon surveys, imaging of a cobble known as "Jin" and wheel trenches
informally named "Harland" and "Williams," atmospheric observations, and
measurements of argon gas in the Martian atmosphere.

Opportunity is healthy and all subsystems are operating as expected,
with the exception of the robotic arm.

Sol-by-sol summary:

In addition to receiving morning instructions directly from Earth via
the rover's high-gain antenna, relaying data back to Earth via the UHF
antenna on the Mars Odyssey orbiter, and measuring atmospheric dust with
the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed the following activities:

Sol 1518 (May 1, 2008): Opportunity acquired a six-frame movie of
navigation-camera images in search of clouds. After sending data to
Odyssey, the rover went into a deep sleep.

Sol 1519: Opportunity acquired color images, using all 13 filters of the
panoramic camera, of Jin, a cobble upslope near one edge of the "Lyell"
outcrop. The rover went into a mini-deep sleep.

Sol 1520: The rover scanned the sky for clouds by acquiring six,
time-lapse movie frames with the navigation camera. Later, Opportunity
acquired another six-frame, time-lapse movie of potential clouds passing
overhead. After communicating with Odyssey, Opportunity measured
atmospheric dust at sunset with the panoramic camera and measured
atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1521: Opportunity acquired a mosaic of images with the panoramic
camera, took six movie frames in search of clouds with the navigation
camera, surveyed the early-morning sky with the panoramic camera, and
monitored dust accumulation on the rover mast. Opportunity took color
images, using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, of Harland,
followed by a mosaic of images.

Sol 1522: In addition to assessing atmospheric dust at different times
of day, Opportunity produced a six-frame movie in search of clouds with
the navigation camera.

Sol 1523: In the morning, Opportunity took color images, using all 13
filters of the panoramic camera, of Williams and the surrounding soil.
Opportunity ran tests of the shoulder joint at cold and warm
temperatures. Using the navigation camera, the rover created a
time-lapse movie in search of clouds and took images of the sky, known
as "sky flats," for calibration purposes.

Sol 1524 (May 7, 2008): Opportunity surveyed the sky at low sun. The
rover measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray
spectrometer and took thumbnail images of the sky for calibration
purposes with the panoramic camera. Opportunity created a movie in
search of clouds with the navigation camera.

Odometry:

As of sol 1524 (May 7, 2008), Opportunity's total odometry remained at
11,689.53 meters (about 7 and one-quarter miles).
Received on Tue 13 May 2008 08:08:30 PM PDT