Energy News  
Opportunity Making Its Way To Final Position On Cape Desire

The rim of Victoria Crater is bisected by a ring of collapsed "bays" that might yet offer a safe way into the crater.
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 05, 2007
Opportunity spent the last week moving around the end of "Cape Desire" to three different imaging locations, each about 2 to 3 meters (6.6 to 9.8 feet) apart. Right now, Opportunity is driving about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) to the final position to finish collecting long-baseline stereo images in the direction of "Cabo Corrientes" (to the east) and "Cabo Anonimo" (to the west).

Sol-by-sol summary:
Each sol there is a panoramic camera tau at the beginning of the plan and before the afternoon Mars Odyssey pass. There is a miniature thermal emission spectrometer elevation sky and ground observation during the Odyssey pass. There is also a mini-miniature thermal emission spectrometer sky and ground observation in the morning of each sol, just prior to handing over to the next sol's master sequence. In addition to these regular activities, Opportunity also completed the following:

Sol 1070 (Jan. 27, 2007): Opportunity's panoramic camera conducted a 13-filter observation on the target "Ceuta." The panoramic camera also took an image of a target that was photographed by the microscopic imager a week earlier during testing of a new capability to autonomously place the tools of the robotic arm onto a target.

Another image by the panoramic camera is for use in a long-baseline stereo pair. The rover then conducted a miniature thermal emission spectrometer stare at Ceuta. After a communication-relay session with NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, Opportunity performed an argon experiment during an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration.

Sol 1071: The rover drove 2.19 meters (7.2 feet) farther out on Cape Desire. Post-drive imaging included front and rear hazard avoidance camera images and a 360-degree navigation camera image.

Sol 1072: Opportunity took panoramic camera images of the magnets and conducted a miniature thermal emission spectrometer seven-point sky and ground observation.

Sol 1073: Opportunity took a panoramic camera long-baseline stereo image mosaic of target Cabo Corrientes.

Sol 1074: The rover used its panoramic camera to get a mosaic image of Cabo Anonimo then conducted a miniature thermal emission spectrometer vertical scan on target Cabo Corrientes during the Odyssey pass instead of the usual sky and ground observation. The rover also monitored dust on its mast.

Sol 1075: A mini-miniature thermal emission sky and ground observation was conducted in the morning of sol 1075. Opportunity bumped about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) and did post-drive imaging.

Sol 1076 (Feb. 2, 2007): Plans call for Opportunity to use its panoramic camera for sky spot and mini-miniature thermal emission sky and ground observations. The rover is then to use the same camera to shoot an image mosaic in the direction of target Cabo Anonimo. A mini-miniature thermal emission spectrometer elevation sky and ground observation is also planned.

Opportunity's total odometry as of sol 1071 (Jan. 28, 2007) is 9,927.11 meters (6.2 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


Spirit Studies Layered Rocks And Wind-Blown Drifts
Pasadena CA (SPX) Feb 02, 2007
With the rover's third Martian spring just around the corner, Spirit is healthy and has started acquiring movies with the navigation camera in search of dust devils wheeling across the terrain. Spring officially begins on Martian day, or sol 1103 (Feb. 8, 2007). During the past week, Spirit acquired microscopic images of a soil target called "Londonderry," which is an active wind drift shaped by the motion of bouncing sand grains.







  • Foreigners Will Not Gain Control Over Strategic Deposits Says Russia
  • Using Pond Scum To Fuel Our Future
  • Gas War Forces Ukraine To Clean Up Its Act
  • Bush Changes Global Warming Spin But Sees No Need For Substantive Action

  • British Firm Set To Upgrade Russian Nuclear Storage Facility
  • Indonesia To Push Ahead With Nuclear Plans
  • Russia To Build Four More Nuclear Reactors In India
  • Israel Should Develop Nuclear Energy

  • Global Assimilation Of Ionospheric Measurements Model Goes Operational
  • Airborne Dust Causes Ripple Effect on Climate Far Away
  • U.S. wood-fired boilers cause concern
  • Climate Change Affecting Outermost Atmosphere Of Earth

  • Greenpeace Slams Indonesian Plan To Auction Forestry Permits
  • Nigeria May Be Left Without Forest By 2010
  • Millions Pledged To Save Canadian Amazon
  • EU Bio-Fuel Demand Threatens Indonesian Forests

  • Something New Under The Sun
  • Japan And Europe Agree To Slash Tuna Catch Amid Extinction Fears
  • Africa's Farmers Will Have Room To Grow
  • Critics Say Global Plan To Save Tuna Stocks Not Enough

  • London Council Votes For Emissions-Related Parking Charges
  • Multimedia Car Radio Of The Future
  • US Auto Giants Safe Under Bush Energy Plan
  • DLR Uses Existing Television Satellites For Wireless Reception In Cars

  • Anger As Britons Face Air Tax Hike
  • Bats In Flight Reveal Unexpected Aerodynamics
  • Lockheed Martin And Boeing Form Strategic Alliance To Promote Next-Gen Air Transportation System
  • Time to test the Guardian Missile Defense System For Commercial Aircraft

  • 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