[meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Update: March15-21, 2012

[Richard Montgomery]

Ron, (and perhaps I'll speak for many here on the List)...your constant 
posts are AWESOME, and while no-one seems to reply, I thought I'd chime in 
and thank you for enlightening me for the continued updates, without which 
I'd be completely in the dark.

Thanks!
Richard Montgomery


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 2:45 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Update: 
March15-21, 2012


>
> http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html#opportunity
>
> OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Slight Drop of Left-front Wheel -
> sols 2894-2900, March 15-21, 2012:
>
> Opportunity remains positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim
> of Endeavour Crater with an approximately 15-degree northerly tilt for
> favorable solar energy production.
>
> Radio Doppler tracking passes for the geo-dynamic investigation were
> performed on sols 2895, 2897 and 2899 (March 16, 18 and 20, 2012). The
> Microscopic Imager (MI) collected images on sols 2894 and 2899 (March 15
> and 20, 2012) as part of a large mosaic. On Sol 2894, the Alpha Particle
> X-ray Spectrometer was placed on target "Amboy3" for a multi-sol
> integration.
>
> On Sol 2899, the robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD)
> experienced a safety stall in preparation for the MI mosaic imaging. The
> imaging executed successfully, and the Mossbauer spectrometer was
> subsequently placed on the target "Amboy," as planned. Imagery from the
> front hazard-avoidance camera showed that the left-front wheel
> apparently dropped by a small amount, roughly half an inch (1
> centimeter), sometime between Sol 2894 and Sol 2899. The rover is safe,
> healthy and stable. There is no indication of risk to Opportunity. But
> the small drop in the left-front wheel is curious. The IDD safety stall
> may be related. The project is investigating this. Diagnostic activities
> have been sequenced for Sol 2901 (March 22, 2012).
>
> As of Sol 2900 (March 21, 2012), solar array energy production was 311
> watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.508 and a solar array
> dust factor of 0.498.
>
> Total odometry is unchanged at 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).
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