* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: The Opportunity rover

Blobrana · L

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Waiting for Dust to Settle - sol 1220-1225, July 13, 2007:

Due to extensive dust storms in Mars' southern hemisphere causing record atmospheric opacity levels, Opportunity is currently experiencing its lowest power levels to date. The tau measurement as of sol 1225 is 4.12, resulting in a mere 280 watt-hours of array energy. A tau measurement of 5.0 would result in approximately 150 watt-hours. If tau begins to approach 5.0, the team will have to begin deleting communications windows in order to conserve energy and keep from draining the batteries.
On sol 1223 Opportunity successfully recovered from the robotic arm joint stall that occurred on sol 1217.
When the dust settles, Opportunity will drive approximately 30 meters south along the edge of "Duck Bay" to position itself at its "Victoria Crater" entry point!

Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to Opportunity's daily communications activities, the rover conducts: morning direct-from-Earth uplink over high-gain antenna, evening downlink relay with Mars Odyssey over UHF.

Sol 1220: The rover conducted atmospheric dust monitoring observations with the panoramic camera and then conserved power.

Sol 1221: The rover conducted atmospheric dust monitoring observations with the panoramic camera and then conserved power.

Sol 1222: The rover conducted atmospheric dust monitoring observations with the panoramic camera and then conserved power.

Sol 1223: On this sol, Opportunity used its microscopic imager, then retracted its robotic arm. This action was confirmed with the rover's navigation camera. The rover then closed the microscopic imager dust cover and confirmed this step with the navigation camera. Diagnostic testing on the arm stall were conducted.

Sol 1224: The rover conducted atmospheric dust monitoring observations with the panoramic camera and then conserved power.

Sol 1225: The rover conducted atmospheric dust monitoring observations with the panoramic camera and then conserved power.

Opportunity's total odometry is 11,424.67 metres as of sol 1225.

Blobrana · L

Image of new rover tracks crossing old tracks, taken by the Opportunity rover on July 13th 2007 (Sol 1232).

Expand (587kb, 1024 x 768)
Credit NASA

Blobrana · L

Image of Victoria crater taken by the Opportunity rover on July 4, 2007 (Sol 1224)

Expand (123kb, 1024 x 768)
Credit NASA

Blobrana · L

A huge dust storm on Mars has cut power to NASA's twin roving geology stations and delayed the start of an investigation into a large impact crater that bears an unusual ring around its inner walls.
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which have been exploring opposite sides of the planet's equatorial region for three and a half years, charge their batteries with solar panels that need direct sunlight.
But a massive dust storm, estimated to be thousands of miles wide, has blanketed the rovers with dust and impaired their ability to collect sunlight.
The storm has been brewing for a week, but mission scientists say that the robots are used to operating at low power levels and are not in danger.
As dust levels increased, Opportunity scaled back operations to conserve energy.

Read more

Blobrana · L

Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1224.

Expand (380kb, 1024 x 1024)
Credit NASA

Blobrana · L

Expand (242kb, 1024 x 768)
Credit NASA

Expand (226kb, 1024 x 768)
Credit NASA

Blobrana · L

Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1220

Expand (333kb, 1024 x 768)
Credit: NASA

Blobrana · L

A giant dust storm brewing for more than a week on Mars has become worse and is affecting surface operations of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Because the rovers depend on solar energy for survival, and the dust is partially blocking the sun, the storm is being watched closely by the rover scientists and engineers. Opportunity's entry into Victoria Crater is delayed for at least several days.
The storm, the most severe storm yet to hit the rovers, is expected to continue for at least another week. Opportunity is perched near "Duck Bay" as it readies to descend into Victoria Crater, but operations were scaled back on Saturday, June 30, to conserve power.

Read more

Blobrana · L

Duck Bay