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Opportunity Images Belly Pan To Help Spirit
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 25, 2009 This week, Opportunity completed in-situ (contact) science with her robotic arm (IDD) on small pebbles located on an exposed rock outcrop. On Sol 1886 (May 14, 2009), Opportunity collected a 5-stack of Microscopic Imager pictures then placed the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer on the target "Kasos." On the next sol, the rover placed the Mossbauer spectrometer on the same target for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 1890 (May 18), Opportunity did something special to help out Spirit. The rover tested the technique of using the Microscopic Imager on the end of the IDD to image underneath the rover's belly pan, specifically examining her left middle and right middle wheels. Although the short-focus Microscopic Imager was never designed for such imaging, the images are of very good quality and show a fair amount of detail. Now that we know this technique can work, it may be tried on Spirit to determine if the rover is, in fact, high-centered on some rocks and to see if any obstruction of the left middle wheel can be observed. With her in-situ work complete, Opportunity then drove about 20 meters (.01 miles) on Sol 1891 (May 19). A slight trend upward in the motor current for the right front wheel was noted. On Sol 1992 (May 20), Opportunity drove about 74 meters (243 feet), passing another milestone. As of Sol 1891(May 19), Opportunity's solar-array energy production was 461 watt-hours, the atmospheric opacity (tau) remains around 0.613 and the dust factor is 0.557. Opportunity's total odometry as of Sol 1892 (May 20, 2009) is 16,003.33 meters (9.94 miles). Share This Article With Planet Earth
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NASA Rover Sees Variable Environmental History At Martian CraterPasadena CA (SPX) May 25, 2009 One of NASA's two Mars rovers has recorded a compelling saga of environmental changes that occurred over billions of years at a Martian crater. The Mars rover, Opportunity, surveyed the rim and interior of Victoria Crater on the Red Planet from September 2006 through August 2008. Key findings from that work, reported in the May 22 edition of the journal Science, reinforce and expand what ... read more |
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