[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: May 6-13, 2015

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 16:29:37 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201505182329.t4INTbxt010686_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Exploring the 'Spirit of St. Louis' Crater -
sols 4011-4017, May 06, 2015-May 13, 2015:

Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater at the 'Spirit of St.
Louis' crater near the entrance of 'Marathon Valley.' The rover had been
exploring the outcrops inside the Spirit of St. Louis crater.

On Sol 4011 (May 6, 2015), Opportunity drove 25 feet (7.6 meters) to
approach the target, named 'Harold M. Bixby.' The drive was preceded
with targeted color Panoramic Camera (Pancam) imagery and followed by
post-drive Navigation Camera (Navcam) panoramas. On Sol 4013 (May 8,
2015), the rover began the in-situ (contact) investigation of the same
target with a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic and then the placement of
the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) for a multi-hour
integration. Additional Navcam panoramas were collected on Sol 4014 (May
9, 2015).

On Sol 4016 (May 12, 2015), Opportunity drove again toward some hummocky
terrain, driving about 30 feet (9 meters) to the south. This drive too
was preceded with targeted color Pancam imagery and followed with
post-drive Navcam panoramas.

On the morning of Sol 4017 (May 13, 2015), the rover experienced a
vehicle reset during the high-gain antenna (HGA) pass. A bad address was
reported with a range outside of any address space used by the rover's
avionics. The cause of the reset is not known at this time. The project
is in the process of restoring the rover back to master sequence control.

As of Sol 4016 (May 12, 2015), the solar array energy production was 526
watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.146 and a solar array
dust factor of 0.734.

Total odometry is 26.28 miles (42.30 kilometers), more than a marathon.
Received on Mon 18 May 2015 07:29:37 PM PDT