[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: August 26 - September 1, 2015

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Driving West To Reach New Rock Target  - sols 4120-4125, 
August 26, 2015-September 01, 2015:

Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater 
exploring for phyllosilicate clay minerals.

The rover is operating in persistent RAM mode (not using Flash for data 
storage). On Sol 4120 (Aug. 26, 2015), Opportunity used the Rock Abrasion 
Tool (RAT) to brush the freshly ground surface target, 'Pvt. Robert Frazer' 
to prepare it for in-situ (contact) measurements. After the surface was 
cleaned, the Microscopic Imager collected an image mosaic. This was followed 
by the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The 
APXS integration was performed on the evening of the next sol. Both Panoramic 
Camera (Pancam) and Navigation Camera (Navcam) panoramas were sequenced 
over several sols along with additional readouts of Flash Bank 7 memory.

On Sol 4125 (Sept. 1, 2015), the rover drove to the west about 46 feet 
(14 meters) in order to approach a new geological contact that may exhibit 
characteristics of alternation.

As of Sol 4125 (Sept. 1, 2015), the solar array energy production was 
384 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.668 and a solar 
array dust factor of 0.582.

Total odometry is 26.42 (42.52 kilometers), more than a marathon.