Opportunity has begun the in-situ (contact) investigation of rocks around the rim of Endeavour crater.

On Sol 2690 (Aug. 18, 2011), the rover began the approach to a large ejecta block, named "Tinsdale 2" with a 4-meter (13-foot) drive. On Sol 2692 (Aug. 20, 2011), Opportunity completed the approach to Tinsdale 2 with a turn-around to face the rock and a short 2-meter (7-foot) forward approach to the target.

On Sol 2694 (Aug. 22, 2011), Opportunity started the multi-sol, multi-target in-situ (contact) investigation with a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic of a set of surface targets collectively named "Timmins," followed by a placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) for an overnight integration.

On Sol 2695 (Aug. 23, 2011), the rover collected another MI mosaic on a different target spot, again followed by an overnight APXS integration.

On Sol 2696 (Aug. 24, 2011), Opportunity did it again with another set of MI mosaics and an APXS integration.

As of Sol 2695 (Aug. 23, 2011), solar array energy production was 366 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.07 and a solar array dust factor of 0.546.

Total odometry is 20.83 miles (33,525.53 meters, or 33.53 kilometers).

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

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