[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - May 6, 2005

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Testing on Earth Before Moving on Mars - 
sol 449-455, May 06, 2005

Opportunity is imaging the plains and performing atmospheric science
observations while waiting for engineers on Earth to give it the
go-ahead to move. The team is diligently working to determine why
Opportunity dug itself into a small dune, the best way to exit the dune,
and what added precautions to use during future driving.

Sol summary:

Sols 449 to 455 (April 29 to May 5, 2005):

In JPL's In-situ Instrument Laboratory sandbox, engineers, scientists
and even the project manager have been mixing sandy and powdery
materials, digging holes and building dunes. A mixture was concocted to
simulate properties of the soil underneath Opportunity, using sand, clay
and diatomaceous earth (silica-rich powder composed mainly of
microscopic plant shells, used in these tests for its texture, not its
fossil origin). The team wants to have a full understanding of how
Opportunity will respond before commanding it to back out of its current
position.