Mars Exploration News  
Opportunity Is Busting Loose And Going For It On Mars

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by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 19, 2008
Opportunity finally escaped the Martian sand and backed up onto solid rock inside "Victoria Crater." Driving backward on Martian day, or sol, 1557 (June 10, 2008), the rover successfully moved the last of its six wheels up over a rocky ledge.

The successful maneuver freed Opportunity to follow another route that will bring the rover closer to the cliff known as "Cape Verde." From there, the rover will collect high-resolution, panoramic images of rock layers in the promontory.

Also this week, the rover engineering team had the honor of hosting Houston-area Congressman and Mars exploration enthusiast John Culberson.

The congressman participated in the planning of sols 1557 and 1558 (June 10-11, 2008). Culberson even helped design a science observation of the cobble informally named "Barnes" in honor of Virgil E. Barnes, former emeritus professor of geological sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.

Sol-by-sol summary:

In addition to receiving morning instructions directly from Earth via the rover's high-gain antenna and measuring atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed the following activities:

Sol 1551 (June 4, 2008): Opportunity acquired a 5-by-1 mosaic of images for a shadow test to determine how well imaging of Cape Verde can proceed in shadowed conditions.

Sol 1552: In the morning, Opportunity took spot images of the sky for calibration purposes and surveyed the horizon with the panoramic camera. After driving backward, the rover took images of cleat marks made with its wheels using the hazard-avoidance cameras.

Opportunity took post-drive images of the rover mast and a 3-by-1 mosaic of images with the navigation camera. After relaying data to the Odyssey orbiter for transmission to Earth, Opportunity measured argon gas in the Martian atmosphere with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1553: Opportunity completed a morning survey of the horizon and took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera. The rover acquired a 5-by-1 mosaic of images for the shadow test and surveyed the sky at high Sun with the panoramic camera.

Sol 1554: In the morning, Opportunity acquired a six-frame, time-lapse movie of potential clouds passing overhead with the navigation camera.

The rover acquired another 5-by-1 mosaic of shadow-test images with the panoramic camera. Opportunity then acquired full-color images, using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, of a cobble dubbed "Agassiz."

The rover completed a sky survey at high Sun with the panoramic camera and, after sending data to Odyssey, measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1555: Opportunity surveyed the horizon and took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera. The rover acquired a six-frame, time-lapse movie in search of clouds with the navigation camera. After communicating with Odyssey, Opportunity measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1556: In the morning, Opportunity took thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera. After communicating with Odyssey, the rover measured atmospheric argon with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1557 (June 10, 2008): In the morning, Opportunity acquired a six-frame, time-lapse movie in search of clouds with the navigation camera and surveyed surrounding rock clasts with the panoramic camera. The rover acquired full-color images, using all 13 filters of the panoramic camera, of Barnes.

Opportunity then drove backward and acquired post-drive images of surrounding terrain and of the rover mast with the navigation camera as well as images of cleat imprints made by the rover's wheels with the hazard-avoidance cameras. After sending data to Odyssey, Opportunity measured atmospheric argon.

Plans for the following morning called for the rover to monitor dust on the rover mast and take another six-frame movie of potential clouds passing overhead.

Odometry: As of sol 1557 (June 10, 2008), Opportunity's total odometry was 11,691.84 meters (7.26 miles).

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Energy Levels Reach Record Low For Fading Spirit Of Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 03, 2008
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