[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update - August 23-28, 2012

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:56:47 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201208302156.q7ULulsl027390_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Exceeds 35 Kilometers Of Driving! -
sols 3051-3056, August 23-28, 2012:

Opportunity has exceeded over 35 kilometers (21.75 miles) of odometry!

The rover is moving south along the inboard edge of Cape York on the rim
of Endeavour Crater surveying exposed outcrop in search of
phyllosilicate clay minerals that have been detected from orbit.

On Sol 3051 (Aug. 23, 2012), Opportunity continued to move about 98 feet
(30 meters) south along the inboard edge of Cape York, imaging the
outcrop to the west with both Panoramic Camera (Pancam) and Navigation
Camera (Navcam). On Sol 3053 (Aug. 25, 2012), the rover drove further
south with more of an inboard bias to be closer to the outcrop. Again,
more detailed Pancam and Navcam surveys were performed. On Sol 3055
(Aug. 27, 2012), the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) on the end of the robotic
arm was imaged to re-confirm the available bit for future grinding and
the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) collected a measurement of
atmospheric argon.

On Sol 3056 (Aug. 28, 2012), Opportunity headed almost due west in a
direct approach to some exciting outcrop units. With that drive, the
rover passed 35 kilometers of odometry. Not bad for a vehicle designed
for only about 1 mile (1 kilometer) of distance and 90 sols (days) of
lifetime.

As of Sol 3056 (Aug. 28, 2012), the solar array energy production was
568 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.570 and a solar
array dust factor of 0.684.

Total odometry is 21.76 miles (35,017.33 meters).
Received on Thu 30 Aug 2012 05:56:47 PM PDT