[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: November 20-27, 2014

[Ron Baalke]

http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/status.html#opportunity

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Giving Thanks for Opportunity's Great Work! - 
sols 3847-3851, November 20, 2014-November 27, 2014:

Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater heading towards 'Marathon 
Valley', a location assumed to have abundant clay minerals slightly over 
a half mile (1 kilometer) to the south.

The rover is stopped at an interesting geologic unit and conducting in-situ 
(contact) measurements. On Sol 3848 (Nov. 21, 2014), the rover began the 
investigation of a light-toned vein, first with a Microscopic Imager (MI) 
mosaic and then with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) placed 
on the same for a multi-hour integration.

On the next sol, Opportunity offset the placement of the APXS for a second 
measurement. To investigate the rock matrix surrounding the vein, drivers 
used the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) on Sol 3850 (Nov. 26, 2014) to brush 
an exposed outcrop surface and then followed this with a MI mosaic and 
another APXS placement. The plan ahead is to perform a multi-sol APXS 
integration and extensive remote sensing before driving away after the 
Thanksgiving holiday. As of Sol 3850 (Nov. 26, 2014), the rover is in 
good health with solar array energy production of 469 watt-hours, an atmospheric 
opacity (Tau) of 1.458 and a solar array dust factor of 0.651.

Total odometry is 25.6 miles (41.3 kilometers).