[meteorite-list] NASA Reformats Memory of Longest-Running Mars Rover

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2015 14:19:56 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201503242119.t2OLJuWO028226_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4517

NASA Reformats Memory of Longest-Running Mars Rover
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
March 23, 2015

* The rover team reformatted the aging rover's flash memory to restore
use of overnight data storage

* Opportunity completed inspections of blocky rocks above Marathon Valley

* The rover is nearing the equivalent of a marathon in total driving distance

After avoiding use of the rover's flash memory for three months, the team
operating NASA's 11-year-old Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reformatted
the vehicle's flash memory banks and resumed storing some data overnight
for transmitting later.

The team received confirmation from Mars on March 20 that the reformatting
completed successfully. The rover switched to updated software earlier
this month that will avoid using one of the seven banks of onboard flash
memory. Some of the flash-memory problems that prompted the team to adopt
a no-flash mode of operations in late 2014 were traced to Bank 7. The
remaining six banks provide more nonvolatile memory capacity than the
rover has used on all but a few days since landing on Mars in January
2004.

In the no-flash mode of operations, Opportunity continued conducting science
investigations and driving, but transmitted each day's accumulated data
before powering down for overnight conservation of energy. Flash memory
is nonvolatile, meaning it retains data even without power. Opportunity
also uses random access memory, which retains data only while power is
on.

Last week, Opportunity completed examination of unusual rocks it found
at an overlook to its "Marathon Valley" science destination. The rover
is approaching an elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis" on the
path to Marathon Valley. As of March 23, Opportunity has 47 yards (43
meters) remaining to drive before its odometry passes the distance of
an Olympic marathon race.

"Opportunity can work productively without use of flash memory, as we
have shown for the past three months, but with flash we have more flexibility
for operations," said Opportunity Project Manager John Callas of NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "The rover can collect
more data than can be returned to Earth on any one day. The flash memory
allows data from intensive science activities to be returned over several
days."

Marathon Valley was selected as a science destination because spectrometer
observations from orbit indicate exposures of clay minerals. Before entering
the valley, Opportunity will observe Spirit of St. Louis Crater, which
holds an interior rock structure rising higher than the crater rim.

As of March 16, Opportunity has driven 26.192 miles (42.152 kilometers)
since it landed on Mars in January 2004. A marathon is 26.219 miles (42.195
kilometers).

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. For more information about Spirit and Opportunity,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/rovers

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov

You can follow the project on Twitter and on Facebook at:

http://twitter.com/MarsRovers

http://www.facebook.com/mars.rovers


Media Contact

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

2015-094
Received on Tue 24 Mar 2015 05:19:56 PM PDT