[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: October 9-14, 2015

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  The Rover Is Now On Northerly Slopes To Charge The
Solar Panels For The Winter - sols 4162-4167, October 09,
2015-October 14, 2015:

Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour
Crater completing a valley floor survey for clay minerals before moving
to the winter location on the south side of the valley.

Low-elevation orbiter relay passes to the west have resulted in little
to no data return on some relay passes. This is a function of orbit
geometry and the high valley wall to the west within Marathon Valley. On
Sol 4163 (Oct. 10, 2015), Opportunity drove over 33 feet (10 meters) in
a dogleg maneuver, first north then east, avoiding some terrain
obstacles. The rover collected some mid-drive images of the departed
location to assist analysis of some wheel/terrain interaction during the
last turn in place.

On the next sol, the rover collected both Panoramic Camera (Pancam) and
Navigation Camera (Navcam) panoramas and continued with the diagnostic
readout of Flash Bank 7. More Pancam panoramas were taken on the sol
after that.

On Sol 4166 (Oct. 13, 2015), Opportunity drove again, this time about 66
feet (20 meters) to the southeast. Afterward, more Pancam and Navcam
panoramas where collected. The rover is now on some favorable northerly
tilted terrain. Opportunity will remain on northerly slopes for the
balance of the winter.

As of Sol 4166 (Oct. 13, 2015), the solar array energy production was
325 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.557 and a solar
array dust factor of 0.577.

Total odometry is 26.48 miles (42.62 kilometers), more than a marathon.