[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update - December 4-9, 2014

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 11:18:54 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201412151918.sBFJIsxu017797_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/status.html#opportunity

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Flash-Memory Resets Continue - sols 3862-3867,
December 04, 2014-December 09, 2014:

Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater heading towards 'Marathon
Valley,' a putative location for abundant clay minerals only about a mile
(about 1 kilometer) to the south.

Because of the deteriorating performance of the Flash file system, the
project reformatted the rover's Flash memory on Sol 3862 (Dec. 4, 2014).
Although the rover's operation improved immediately after the reformat,
Flash behavior quickly deteriorated. Opportunity experienced a set of
resets on Sols 3864 and 3865 (Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, 2014). After this, the
project made the decision to operate the rover without the use of Flash
memory until another fix can be implemented. On Sol 3866 (Dec. 8, 2014),
the rover was booted without using Flash (and instead storing data products
in volatile RAM memory) and all the fault conditions were cleared. On
Sol 3867 (Dec. 9, 2014), Opportunity performed light science activities
in preparation for driving on the next sol. Longer term, the project is
developing a strategy to mask off the troubled sector of Flash and resume
using the remainder of the Flash file system.

As of Sol 3867 (Dec. 9, 2014), the solar array energy production was 500
watt-hours, an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.215 and a solar array dust
factor of 0.659.
Received on Mon 15 Dec 2014 02:18:54 PM PST