[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - July 1, 2004

[Ron Baalke]

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Ravenous Rock Abrasion Tool - sol 150-153, 
July 01, 2004

On Sol 150, Opportunity completed Mossbauer spectrometer 
observations in the rock abrasion tool hole on the rock 
"Tennessee" (hole number 3). The rover then stowed its arm, 
drove 0.55 meters (1.8 feet) backwards, turned to 40 degrees 
and then drove 1 meter (3.3 feet) forward. That was a net 
forward motion of 0.45 meters (1.5 feet) down-crater. This 
drive enabled Opportunity to reach two targets in the fifth 
distinct layer (E) of "Endurance Crater." The night of sol 
150 into morning of sol 151, Opportunity did not do a deep 
sleep.

It was time to get to work again drilling another rock 
abrasion tool hole on sol 151. Opportunity began the sol by 
performing panoramic camera images, then it unstowed its arm 
and used the microscopic imager to capture the next drilling 
target, "Grindstone." After using the microscopic imager, 
Opportunity spent two hours grinding and created another 
precise hole. Upon completing the grinding operation, 
Opportunity placed the Mossbauer in the hole and performed a 
long integration. Opportunity did a mini-deep sleep operation 
overnight from sol 151 into the morning of sol 152. The 
miniature thermal emission spectrometer reached a chilly 
-51 degrees Celsius overnight.

On sol 152, Opportunity completed the observations on the 
hole on Grindstone. When the rover woke up from deep sleep at 
7:00a.m. local solar time, it turned on the Mossbauer 
spectrometer and integrated until mid-afternoon. When the 
Mossbauer integration was complete, the rover switched tools 
to place the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer in the hole.

On sol 153 Opportunity ended the alpha particle X-ray 
spectrometer integration, and set its sights on still 
another rock abrasion tool target. This time Opportunity 
stretched its arm out just a little farther down into the 
crater to a target called "Kettlestone." Grinding again for 
just over two hours, Opportunity successfully created the 
fifth hole on the slopes of Endurance Crater. The last two 
grind operations took place on a slope of -25.6 degrees. 
Just as on sol 151, after completing the drilling operation, 
Opportunity placed the Mossbauer spectrometer in the new hole 
and collected data late into the night. Shutting down late at 
night, Opportunity deep slept until 7:00a.m. local solar time 
on sol 154.

Total odometry after sol 153 was 1468.46 meters (0.91246 mile).