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Opportunity Continues Meteorite Examination - Sol 1981-1987
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 31, 2009 Opportunity is continuing its contact investigation of the 70-centimeter (28-inch) meteorite called "Block Island." On Sol 1981 (Aug. 20, 2009), the rover performed a very small rotation that moved the robotic arm (instrument deployment device, or IDD) in azimuth to reach new targets on the meteorite. On the next sol, the IDD collected a stack of microscopic imager (MI) images of new targets and then placed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) onto a target. The IDD changed tools the following sol from the APXS to the Moessbauer (MB) spectrometer and placed it on the target "Siahs Swamp2" for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 1986 (Aug. 25, 2009), the MB was retracted and an ambitious MI imaging campaign, including stereo imaging, was performed on the surface of the meteorite. At the end of that, the MB was replaced for continued integration. The shroud of the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) continues to be left open on scheduled sols to allow the environment to clean putative dust contamination from the elevation mirror. No improvement in Mini-TES performance has been observed so far, but the rover has seen no wind events. As of Sol 1986 (Aug. 25, 2009), Opportunity's solar-array energy production was 453 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.526 and a dust factor of 0.550. The rover's total odometry was 17,229.16 meters (10.71 miles). Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Dust Storm Passing Over SpiritPasadena CA (SPX) Aug 28, 2009 The amount of electricity generated by the solar panels on Spirit has been declining for the past several Martian days, or sols, as a regional dust storm moved southward and blocked some of the sunshine at Spirit's location. The team operating the rover has responsively trimmed Spirit's daily activities and is keeping an eye on weather reports from observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbi ... read more |
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