[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Update - September 19, 2005

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Erebus Bound - sol 580-585, Sept 19, 2005:

Opportunity has resumed normal operations this week. The rover is
healthy and making progress towards "Erebus Crater." The rover team has
been commanding Opportunity to drive every chance it gets. The last two
sols this week have been remote sensing only, due to a lack of critical
data.

Sol-by sol summaries:

Sols 580 and 581 (Sept. 10 and 11, 2005): The weekend included a
26.3-meter (86-foot) drive with observations before and after the drive.

Sol 582: A 30-meter (98-foot) drive this sol brought the rover to the
"Erebus Highway?" an outcrop-rich area that extends south toward the crater.

Sol 583: The previous sol's drive appears to have completed
successfully, however no data was received due to an issue at the Deep
Space Network station where the data is received from space and
transmitted to JPL.

Sol 584: Remote sensing was performed, which included as systematic
foreground survey using the panoramic camera and miniature thermal
emission spectrometer. The plan included commands for the rover to
re-transmit the critical post-drive data to Earth, but these were not
received due to a sequencing error.

Sol 585 (Sept. 15, 2005): This sol's plan included commands for remote
sensing and for re-transmission of the post-drive imaging.

Total odometry as of sol 584 (Sept. 14, 2005): 5,874.32 meters or 3.65
miles.