Energy News  
Finishing Up Scuff Work And Heading For Emma Dean

Computer generated model of Victoria Crater, Mars.
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 13, 2006
Opportunity is healthy and just over 100 meters (328 feet) from "Victoria Crater." The rover completed robotic arm work on a scuff mark it made on sol 919. On sol 929 (Sept. 4, 2006), Opportunity almost got a hole-in-one by driving 100.31 meters (329 feet) to the small crater "Emma Dean."

The rover arrived just 5 meters (16 feet) short of Emma Dean. On sol 931 the rover photographed the bit of the rock abrasion tool (RAT) to help engineers estimate how many more grinds might be possible with the tool. The hazard avoidance camera took several high-resolution images at different angles.

The RAT engineers are examining them to see how much "bite" is left in the RAT. Also on sol 931, a short bump to an ejecta rock was attempted in the hopes of grinding it. Another bump (tentatively scheduled for sol 937) will have to be attempted before the rover can actually grind it. The remainder of the week had Opportunity acquiring remote-sensing science at Emma Dean.

Following the robotic arm campaign at Emma Dean, Opportunity will continue its drive to Victoria Crater.

Sol-by-sol summaries:

Sol 928 (Sept. 3, 2006): Opportunity used the microscopic imager on the robotic arm to look at scuff-mark targets "Powell" and "Powell's Brother." The rover also used the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on Powell's Brother. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer was also used on this sol.

Sol 929: The rover bumped back this sol and used its panoramic camera. It also drove forward toward the small crater referred to as Emma Dean. The rover also took some post-drive images.

Sol 930: This sol consisted of untargeted remote sensing.

Sol 931: Opportunity bumped to a rover arm target at Emma Dean and conducted untargeted remote sensing.

Sol 932: The rover conducted untargeted remote sensing.

Sol 933: Opportunity conducted targeted remote sensing.

Sol 934: Opportunity conducted targeted remote sensing.

Sol 935 (Sept. 10, 2006): Opportunity conducted targeted remote sensing.

As of sol 931 (Sept. 6, 2006), Opportunity's total odometry was 9,128.84 meters (5.67 miles).

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Mars Rovers at JPL
Mars Rovers at Cornell
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Animated Elevation Model Of Victoria Crater
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 11, 2006
After driving more than 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from the site where it landed in January 2004, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity approached "Victoria Crater" in September 2006. The crater is about 750 meters (half a mile) across.







  • Using Microbes To Fuel The US Hydrogen Economy
  • MIT Forges Greener Path To Iron Production
  • Air Force Prepares To Test Synthetic Fuel On B-52
  • China Speeds Up Renewable Energy Development

  • Russia Plans Massive Boost In Uranium Production
  • Less-Risky Reactor For Clean, Safe Energy
  • Russia Nuclear Chief Cautious Over IAEA Uranium Reserve Proposal
  • Understanding The Chemistry Of Ionic Liquids For Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

  • NASA Experiment Finds Possible Trigger For Radio-Busting Bubbles
  • California's Model Skies
  • ESA Picks SSTL To Develop Atmospheric CO2 Detector
  • Faster Atmospheric Warming In Subtropics Pushes Jet Streams Toward Poles

  • Fires Rage As Haze Thickens In Borneo
  • Large-Scale Farming Now Causes Substantial Forest Loss in Amazon
  • The Subtleties Of Tropical Forest Demise
  • NASA Satellites Can See How Climate Change Affects Forests

  • China Rejects Claims Of GM Rice Entering EU Foods
  • GM Chinese Rice Maybe Contaminating European Food
  • French Police Arrest Three As Hundreds Try To Destroy GM Crops
  • Japanese Sushi Infatuation Straining Atlantic Tuna Stocks

  • Real-Time Traffic Routing From The Comfort Of Your Car
  • Real-Time Traffic Routing From The Comfort Of Your Car
  • British Police Force To Introduce Greener Cars
  • Two New Segway Models Offered

  • US Sanctions On Russia Could Hurt Boeing
  • Boeing Puts Aircraft Market At 2.6 Trillion Dollars
  • Innovative Solutions Make Transportation Systems Safer Secure and Efficient
  • Joint Strike Fighter Is Not Flawed Finds Australian Government

  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear
  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement