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TOPIC: The Opportunity rover
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 NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Update: Opportunity Turns Up the Amps - sol 1164-1170, May 24, 2007:

Opportunity's electrical supply returned to levels not seen since the rover first arrived on Mars. Peak electrical current from the rover's solar arrays climbed above 4.0 amps and remained there for most of the week as a result of three recent dust-cleaning events. The last time electrical current reached similar levels was on sol 18 (Feb. 10, 2004)! Meanwhile, Opportunity is healthy and continues to circumnavigate "Victoria Crater" back toward "Duck Bay." On the rover's 1,163rd sol, or Martian day of exploration (May 2, 2007), Opportunity drove 90 metres. The following sol the rover drove toward the rim of "Cape of Good Hope" to acquire high-quality, super-resolution images of the western face of "Cape St. Vincent." These images will enable scientists to better characterise detailed cross-bedding in the lower stratigraphic unit.
Opportunity also successfully tested a new procedure for using the rock abrasion tool to grind and seek a surface of scientific interest. At a rock target known as "Viva La Rata" ("Long Live the Rat"), the rover used software to bypass a check that was causing the grind encoder to fail. Because the RAT can no longer find the rock surface by seek/ scan, the rover used the grinding motion to do a "grind/scan." On sol 1166 (May 4, 2007), Opportunity performed a successful grind/scan to find the target surface. Then, on sol 1168 (May 7, 2007), the rover used the rock abrasion tool to brush Viva la Ratta.
On sol 1169 (May 8, 2007), Opportunity postponed a planned drive to study some cobbles because of a joint 1 stall that occurred while stowing the robotic arm before the drive. This stall was similar to previous joint 1 stalls. On sol 1170 (May 9, 2007), Opportunity reached its destination, an outcrop known as "Madrid/Guadarrama."

Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to daily observations that included measuring atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera and surveying the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Opportunity completed the following activities:

Sol 1164 (May 3, 2007): Opportunity stowed the robotic arm, drove approximately 15 metres  onto "Cape of Good Hope," acquired hazard avoidance camera images just before and after the end of the drive, and unstowed the robotic arm. The rover acquired a 3-by-1 mosaic of "Cape of Good Hope" as well as other images of the terrain with the navigation camera after the drive.

Sol 1165: Opportunity began the sol by acquiring a timed movie in search of clouds, with successive images taken after a two-minute delay. The rover completed a sky survey at high sun using the panoramic camera and measured dark current (signals received when not exposed to light) while both hot and warm. The rover enjoyed a deep sleep.

Sol 1166: Upon awakening, Opportunity surveyed the sky with the panoramic camera and acquired panoramic camera images of Cape St. Vincent. While acquiring stereo microscopic images of Viva la Rata prior to grinding the rock surface, Joint 1 stalled. The rover conducted a touch test on Viva La Rata with the rock abrasion tool and searched for clouds with the navigation camera.

Sol 1167: In the morning, Opportunity monitored dust on the rover mast and acquired thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera. The rover acquired super-resolution images of Cape St. Vincent with the panoramic camera and searched for clouds with the navigation camera.

Sol 1168: Opportunity completed a morning survey of the horizon with the panoramic camera and brushed Viva La Rata with the rock abrasion tool. Following that, the rover acquired stereo microscopic images of the brushed surface and studied it with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. Opportunity also surveyed a target known as "Rodrigues" with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and acquired panoramic camera images of the terrain ahead. Opportunity scanned the sky for clouds with the navigation camera.

Sol 1169: Opportunity acquired sky images with the panoramic camera and checked for drift (changes with time) in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover did not stow the robotic arm as planned after having moved it into ready position because of the Joint 1 stall. Also as a result of the stall, the rover did not drive backward to adjust its position and proceed to "Madrid" as planned. Opportunity acquired images of Viva La Rata with the panoramic camera and post-drive images with both the panoramic and navigation cameras. The rover searched for clouds with the navigation camera.

Sol 1170 (May 8, 2007): Opportunity acquired post-drive images with the navigation camera, conducted a diagnostic test of the robotic arm, stowed the robotic arm, acquired panoramic camera images of "Madrid," unstowed the robotic arm, and acquired images with the navigation and panoramic cameras. The rover scanned the sky for clouds and conducted a survey of rock clasts with the panoramic camera.

Odometry:
As of sol 1170 (May 8, 2007), Opportunity's total odometry was 10,784.94 metres.

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Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1187

Opportunity Sol 1187
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Credit NASA

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More than three years into its mission on Mars, NASA's Opportunity rover is gearing up for what could be the journey's climax: a descent into 230-foot-deep Victoria Crater to read the pages of what the mission's top scientist calls "a geologic history book." The update from Cornell University astronomer Steven Squyres, principal investigator for NASA's Mars rover missions, was just one of several new turns in the saga of Red Planet exploration.
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Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1185

Opportunity Sol 1185
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Credit NASA

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Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1172

Opportunity Sol 1172
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Image taken by the Opportunity rover at the Cape of Good Hope on Sol 1171.

OppSol1171
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Image taken by the Opportunity rover at the Cape of Good Hope on May 10, 2007 (Sol 1170).

OppSol1170_pan
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Image taken by the Opportunity rover, on the rim of Victoria crater, on Sol 1170

oppSol1170
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Original image degraded by a jpeg compression factor of 40, and cropped to 1024 x 768.
(The colour balance has gone to pot as well).
Credit NASA

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Image taken by the Opportunity rover on Sol 1169

Opportunity Sol 1169
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OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Conducts Successful Path Planning Test and Gets Another Energy Boost - sol 1157-1163, May 04, 2007:

Opportunity drove 224 metres  this week.
The sol 1160 checkout of the D-star hazard avoidance path planner (drive planning software) was a resounding success. In order to make the test as safe as possible, D-star was told that rocks in its path were hazards, when actually Opportunity is capable of safely driving over them. The rover planners set a waypoint on the opposite side of "Granada" such that a straight path would have taken the rover directly over these non-hazardous hazards.
On sols 1162 and 1163 Opportunity drove towards the "Cape of Good Hope." On sol 1164 the rover will creep several metres closer to the edge of the crater to position itself for panoramic camera imaging of "Cape St. Vincent" over the weekend. Also this weekend Opportunity will perform another test of RAT grinding.
On sol 1159 Opportunity experienced yet another dust cleaning event. Solar array energy production is now over 800 watt-hours.

Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to Opportunity's daily science observations which include a panoramic camera tau measurement and miniature thermal emission spectrometer sky and ground stares, the rover also did the following:

Sol 1157 (April 26, 2007): Opportunity took the panoramic camera right-eye side of a long baseline stereo imaging of Cape St. Vincent, stowed its robotic arm and drove 38 metres  toward Granada. The rover then unstowed its arm, took post-drive navigation and panoramic camera images and conducted an overnight data relay with Mars Odyssey.

Sol 1158: On this sol, the rover's navigation camera looked for clouds and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the panoramic camera studied the foreground.

Sol 1159: Opportunity used its panoramic camera to take thumbnail images of the sky and its panoramic camera to survey the horizon. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer conducted a 7-point sky and ground survey.

Sol 1160: On this sol, the rover used its panoramic camera to image the target Granada. Opportunity then stowed its arm and drove 15 metres  around Granada for a D-star checkout. The rover then unstowed its arm and conducted post-drive imaging of the path it took to get there.

Sol 1161: On this sol, the rover used its panoramic camera to complete a foreground survey. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer had a look at the sky and then the target "Malaga." The panoramic camera imaged Granada and then the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer conducted an integration for the ongoing atmospheric Argon study.

Sol 1162: Opportunity's panoramic camera took a colour mosaic of the Granada D-star drive. The rover then stowed its arm and drove 74 metres  toward the Cape of Good Hope. Opportunity then unstowed its arm and used both its navigation and panoramic cameras to do more imaging. There was also an overnight data relay with Mars Odyssey.

Sol 1163: On this sol, Opportunity used its navigation camera to image its own tracks. The rover then stowed its arm and drove 97 metres  towards the Cape of Good Hope. After the drive, the rover tool images with its navigation and panoramic cameras. The navigation camera also looked for clouds.

Current Odometry:
As of sol 1163, Opportunity's total odometry is 10,736.12.

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