Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater.
The cold, low-light winter conditions continue to constrain activity, although with a recent drive, energy levels have improved slightly. Sol 4873 (Oct. 8, 2017), was a recharge sol and sol 4872 (Oct. 7, 2017), had little activity.
Opportunity drove on Sol 4874 (Oct. 9, 2017), about 59 feet (18 meters) back up slope to visit some interesting geology. The end-of-drive location provided favorable solar orientation, improving power production.
When not driving or recharging, the rover is collecting extensive Panoramic Camera (Pancam) stereo panoramas of the surrounding geology.
As of Sol 4875 (Oct. 10, 2017), the solar array energy production was 339 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.563 and a solar array dust factor of 0.541.
Total odometry is 27.98 miles (45.04 kilometers).
Opportunity Feeling the Chemistry
Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of Perseverance Valley on the west rim of Endeavour crater.
The cold, low-light winter conditions continue to limit activity. Sols 4866 and 4867 (October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2017) were recharge sols with little activity.
Opportunity has been conducting surface chemistry surveys with Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). On Sol 4 … read more
