[meteorite-list] Mars Rover Opportunity Update: January 13-19, 2016

[Ron Baalke]

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

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE:  Rock Abrasion Tool Conducts Two Rock Grinds  -
sols 4256-4262, January 13, 2016-January 19, 2016:

Opportunity is inside 'Marathon Valley,' up on north-facing slopes for
improved solar array energy production.

The rover is conducting an in-situ (contact) science campaign on the
surface target 'Pvt. John Potts' (informally named for members of the
Lewis and Clark expedition). Previously, Opportunity had performed two
successful Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) grinds on this target totaling over
1 millimeter of grind depth.

On Sol 4257 (Jan. 14, 2016), the rover used the RAT again to grind
another millimeter. With the grinding complete, the RAT brushed the
target on Sol 4259 (Jan. 16, 2016), sweeping away the grind tailings.
Then, a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic was collected followed with the
placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) inside the
ground target.

Also during this time, the rover continued collecting color Panoramic
(Pancam) images of 'Knudsen Ridge' to form a large panorama mosaic of
the valley ridge. With the in-situ work now complete on this target, on
Sol 4262 (Jan. 19, 2016), the rover bumped only 2 inches (5 centimeters)
to position for another target for in-situ investigation.

As of Sol 4262 (Jan. 19, 2016), the solar array energy production was
454 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.471 and a solar
array dust factor of 0.670.

Total odometry is 26.50 miles (42.65 kilometers), more than a marathon.