[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rovers Update: August 28 - September 5, 2008

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:50:21 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200809101750.KAA11187_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Continues Work on Winter Panorama - sol
1657-1662, August 31-September 05, 2008:

Spirit continues to conserve power during the waning Martian winter
while performing light science activities. As power permits, Spirit
continues to acquire the individual frames of an image mosaic known as
the "Bonestell panorama," which will portray a full-color view of the
rover's winter outpost.

Spirit is healthy, with all subsystems performing as expected as of the
most recent report from Mars sent by NASA's Odyssey orbiter on sol 1658
(Sept. 1, 2008). Solar-array energy had increased slightly from 235 to
245 watt-hours (100 watt-hours is the amount of energy needed to light a
100-watt bulb for one hour). Tau -- a measure of atmospheric opacity
caused by suspended dust -- dropped from 0.274 to 0.218, meaning the
skies were slightly clearer.

Sol-by-sol summary

In addition to taking daily measurements of dust-related changes in
atmospheric opacity (tau), Spirit completed the following activities:

Sol 1657 (Aug. 31, 2008): Spirit acquired column 13, part 1 of the
so-called "Bonestell panorama" of the rover's winter surroundings, using
all 13 color filters of the panoramic camera.

Sol 1658: Spirit relayed data from Mars to NASA's Odyssey orbiter to be
transmitted to Earth.

Sol 1659: Spirit received new instructions from Earth via the rover's
high-gain, X-band antenna.

Sol 1660: Spirit recharged the batteries.

Sol 1661: Spirit recharged the batteries.

Sol 1662 (Sept. 5, 2008): Spirit recharged the batteries.

Odometry:

As of sol 1658 (Sept. 1, 2008), Spirit's total odometry remained at
7,528.0 meters (4.7 miles).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Farewell, "Victoria"! - sol 1634-1640, August
28-September 03, 2008:

Opportunity has completed one of the most fantastic scientific campaigns
of the Mars Exploration Rover mission -- the interior investigation of
"Victoria Crater." After spending more than 340 Martian days, known as
sols -- almost one Earth year -- inside the crater, Opportunity climbed
back out on sol 1634 (Aug. 28, 2008). To do so, Opportunity retraced the
wheel tracks the robotic geologist had made while crossing a large sand
ripple and entering Victoria on the slopes of an alcove known as "Duck
Bay."

>From the crater rim, Opportunity gave a final salute to Victoria,
raising its robotic arm on sol 1639 (Sept. 2, 2008) and taking a
snapshot of its shadow with the front hazard-avoidance cameras. The
rover completed the salute by swinging the arm at its elbow joint back
to the starting position.

Opportunity then got into position to practice using an ailing shoulder
joint on the robotic arm. The shoulder joint had begun showing signs of
degradation on sol 1502 (April 15, 2008). Rover operators selected the
large sand ripple at the lip of Victoria Crater as an opportune target.
There, the rover will practice learning to use the arm again.

Remote sensing highlights of the week included taking images of the
tracks Opportunity left behind on the plains more than a year ago as
well as color images of a nearby cobble called "Isle Royale." The rover
also acquired images of a planned study area known as "Bright Spot"
because of the large amount of sunlight reflected from its surface.
Along the way, Opportunity continued to study the Martian atmosphere and
clouds.

Opportunity is healthy, with all subsystems performing as expected as of
the most recent transfer of information from NASA's Odyssey orbiter on
sol 1640 (Sept. 3, 2008). Power has been excellent throughout this
period, averaging about 621 watt-hours (enough energy to light a
100-watt bulb for more than 6 hours).

Sol-by-sol summary:

Each Martian day, or sol, Opportunity measured dust-related changes in
atmospheric clarity with the panoramic camera. In addition, Opportunity
completed the following activities:

Sol 1634 (Aug. 28, 2008): While driving, Opportunity took snapshots of
its journey. After the day's drive, the rover acquired images of the
surrounding terrain and the surface near its wheels with the navigation
and hazard-avoidance cameras. After relaying data to the Odyssey orbiter
for transmission to Earth, Opportunity measured argon gas in the Martian
atmosphere with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1635: Opportunity searched for morning clouds with the navigation
camera, acquiring six, time-lapse frames for a movie.

Sol 1636: Upon awakening, Opportunity acquired another six-frame,
time-lapse movie in search of clouds with the navigation camera. The
rover monitored dust accumulation on the panoramic-camera mast assembly
and took images of the ripple at the lip of Victoria Crater with the
panoramic camera. Opportunity took full-color images of Isle Royale,
using all 13 color filters of the panoramic camera. After relaying data
to Odyssey, Opportunity spent 5 hours and 20 minutes measuring argon gas
in the atmosphere using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1637: After the day's drive, Opportunity completed a "get fine
attitude," during which the rover compared its precise location relative
to the Sun with the position indicated by the on-board, inertial
measurement unit. Following the drive, Opportunity took images with the
hazard-avoidance and navigation cameras. The rover acquired a full,
360-degree panorama of the area with the navigation camera. After
communicating with Odyssey, Opportunity went into a deep sleep.

Sol 1638: In the morning, Opportunity surveyed the horizon with the
panoramic camera. After sending data to Odyssey, the rover went into a
deep sleep.

Sol 1639: Before beginning the day's drive, Opportunity took images of
"Bright Patch Two" with the panoramic camera. Opportunity approached the
large sand ripple on the rim of Victoria and took post-drive images with
the hazard-avoidance and navigation cameras. After relaying data to
Odyssey, the rover measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle
X-ray spectrometer. Opportunity then went into a mini-deep sleep.

Sol 1640 (Sept. 3, 2008): Opportunity acquired more images of Bright
Patch Two as well as a 360-degree panorama of the area with the
navigation camera. After sending data to Odyssey, the rover went into a
deep sleep.

Odometry:

As of sol 1639 (Sept. 2, 2008), Opportunity's estimated total odometry
was 11,781.51 meters (7.32 miles).
Received on Wed 10 Sep 2008 01:50:21 PM PDT