[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: July 14-21, 2011

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:47:23 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201107230247.p6N2lNnL008989_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Past 20-Mile Mark As it Nears Large Crater -
sols 2656-2662, July 14-21, 2011:

Opportunity is only about 1.1 kilometers (0.68 miles) from "Spirit Point,"
the first landfall on the rim of Endeavour crater.

The rover continues to make very good progress, driving five times in the
last week and totaling over 510 meters of drive distance. The right-front
wheel currents remain behaved. The project continues to use backwards driving
and actuator heating as mitigation techniques for the elevated drive actuator
currents.

On Sol 2656 (July 14, 2011), an atmospheric argon measurement was performed
with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). On Sol 2662 (July 21, 2011),
a visual odometry experiment was performed to measure the precision in which
the rover can determine its relative position. This has benefit to future
radio tracking experiments with the rover. The plan ahead is more driving.

As of Sol 2661 (July 19, 2011), solar array energy production was 417
watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.945 and a solar array dust
factor of 0.574.

Total odometry is 32,513.36 meters (32.51 kilometers, or 20.20 miles).
Received on Fri 22 Jul 2011 10:47:23 PM PDT