• Mars Rover Opportunity Update: August 8-15, 2016

    From baalke@1:2320/100 to sci.space.news on Mon Aug 22 02:48:14 2016
    From Newsgroup: sci.space.news


    http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/status.html#opportunity
    .
    OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Studying Grooves - sols 4458-4465,
    August 08, 2016-August 15, 2016:

    Opportunity is wrapping up exploration of 'Marathon Valley' on the rim
    of Endeavour Crater. The rover has driven to an area were the rock outcrop
    has interesting grooves. The science team is using Opportunity to conduct
    an extensive visual documentation campaign at this area.

    The rover is collecting both short-baseline and long-baseline multi-spectral stereo image data with the Panoramic Camera (Pancam). On Sol 4459 (Aug.
    9, 2016), Opportunity drove about 43 feet (13 meters) to the northwest
    to set up for the first station of the long-baseline stereo imaging. After several sols of imaging, the rover bumped about 16 feet (5 meters) north
    to set up for the second station of the long-baseline stereo imaging.
    Over the next few sols, Opportunity collected many more Pancam multi-spectral image frames. The science team is constructing a detailed digital elevation model of the terrain containing the grooves.

    As of Sol 4465 (Aug. 15, 2016), solar array energy production is 588 watt-hours,
    with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.638 and a solar array dust factor
    of 0.654.

    Total odometry as of Sol 4465 is 26.78 miles (43.10 kilometers).

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