Opportunity is at the top of Perseverance Valley on the rim of Endeavour crater.
The plan before proceeding down the valley is to survey the valley from the top and to perform a walk-about survey above the spillway.
On Sol 4733 (May 17, 2017), the robotic arm was used to point the Microscopic Imager (MI) up at the sky for some long overdue sky flat calibration images, and in support of the valley surveying objectives a large Navcam panorama was collected.
On Sol 4734 (May 18, 2017) the rover performed a 3-point "dogleg" drive of nearly 180 feet (55 meters) to set up for more survey imaging.
Opportunity moved again on the next sol about 34 feet (10.5 meters) to position for an even better imaging position.
In this location the rover spent the next four sols surveying the region atop the spillway and the valley below with both Pancam and Navcam panoramas. On Sol 4735 (May 19, 2017), an atmospheric argon measurement with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) was also fit into the rover activities.
As of Sol 4738 (May 22, 2017), the solar array energy production was 376 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.826 and a solar array dust factor of 0.536.
Total odometry as of Sol 4738: 27.86 miles (44.8 kilometers).
Mars Rover Opportunity Begins Study of Valley's Origin
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the main destination of its current two-year extended mission – an ancient fluid-carved valley incised on the inner slope of a vast crater's rim.
As the rover approached the upper end of "Perseverance Valley" in early May, images from its cameras began showing parts of the area in greater resolution than what can be seen in images taken … read more
