[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: October 31 - November 5, 2013

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Maneuvering Around A Sandy Dune Field  - 
sols 3473-3478, Oct. 31, 2013-Nov. 05, 2013:

Opportunity is ascending 'Solander Point' at the rim of 'Endeavour
Crater.' The rover is maintaining favorable northerly tilts for improved
energy production as winter approaches.

Opportunity encountered an undisturbed collection of putative Martian
dust, collecting in a small ripple field. On Sol 3473 (Oct. 31, 2013),
the rover made a 26 feet (8-meter) approach to the dust target, now
called 'Yellow-Bellied Glider.' On Sol 3475 (Nov. 2, 2013), Opportunity
used the robotic arm and collected a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic of
the dust target and then placed the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
(APXS) on the same for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 3478 (Nov. 5,
2013), Opportunity continued along Solander Point towards more outcrops
with a 56 feet (17-meter) dogleg maneuver to avoid driving through the
dusty ripple field.

As of Sol 3478 (Nov. 5, 2013), the solar array energy production was 311
watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.536 and a solar array
dust factor of 0.491.

Total odometry is 23.94 miles (38.53 kilometers).