[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: April 29 - May 5, 2015

[Ron Baalke]

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Getting Ready to Enter 'Spirit of St. Louis' 

Crater - sols 4004-4010, April 29, 2015-May 05, 2015:

Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater at the 'Spirit of St. 
Louis' crater near the entrance of 'Marathon Valley.' The rover had been 
exploring the outcrops just outside the Spirit of St. Louis crater, so 
now its time to enter the crater.

On Sol 4004 (April 29, 2015), Opportunity performed a toe-dip maneuver 
to test the physical nature of the crater interior, then backed out and 
drove along the rim towards another entry point. On the next sol, here, 
the rover entered the crater with a 30 feet (9-meter) drive toward the 
interior crater mound, called 'Lindbergh.' On Sol 4006 (May 1, 2015), 
Opportunity performed a dog-leg approach to Lindbergh mound to reach some 
surface targets. The next sol, the rover collected an atmospheric argon 
measurement with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and performed 
a late-night Panoramic Camera (Pancam) observation of a Phobos eclipse. 
Now in position at the mound, Opportunity performed some in-situ (contact) 
science at a target, called 'Roosevelt Field.' Using the robotic arm, 
a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic of the target was collected with the 
placement of the APXS on the same for a multi-hour integration. 

With each drive the rover made, both pre-drive targeted Pancam images 
and post-drive Navigation Camera (Navcam) panoramas were collected. The 
rover did experience one benign amnesia event on the evening of Sol 4004 
(April 29, 2015), but otherwise the rover is in great health.

As of Sol 4010 (May 5, 2015), the solar array energy production was 508 
watt-hours with an increased atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.333 and a 
solar array dust factor of 0.729.

Total odometry is 26.27 miles (42.28 kilometers), more than a marathon.