[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: November 02-08, 2011

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Rover Continues Studies While Heading North -
sols 2764-2770, November 02-08, 2011:

The seasonal plan for Opportunity is to winter over on the north end of
Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater where northerly tilts are
favorable for solar array energy production.

As such, the project has been driving the rover towards the north end of
the cape with a route along the west side that creates opportunities for
science along the way. The science team is investigating a light-toned
vein, called "Homestake" with the instruments on the rover's robotic arm.

On Sol 2764 (Nov. 2, 2011), the robotic arm was used to collect
Microscopic Imager (MI) images of the Homestake vein, then placed the
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) for an overnight integration.
On the next sol, additional MI images were collected with a small
repositioning of the APXS to better center the target within the sweet
spot of the APXS. On Sol 2766 (Nov. 4, 2011), the robotic arm collected
additional MI images of Homestake and positioned the APXS on a different
part of the vein for another integration. On Sol 2769 (Nov. 7, 2011),
Opportunity bumped about a 3 feet (1 meter) away to setup for some
in-situ (contact) science on a patch of exposed bedrock, part of the
same unit that contains the Homestake vein. On Sol 2770 (Nov. 8, 2011),
the rover performed a small turn to position the exposure of rock
outcrop within reach of the rover's robotic arm. The plan ahead is an
APXS placement of the outcrop before driving away.

As of Sol 2770 (Nov. 8, 2011), solar array energy production was 295
watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.774 and a solar array
dust factor of 0.489.

Total odometry is 21.25 miles (34,200.33 meters, or 34.20 kilometers).