Energy News  
MARSDAILY
Several Drives This Week Put Opportunity Over 17-Mile Mark

File image.
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 12, 2011
Opportunity continues the trek towards Endeavour crater with great dispatch, driving on four of the last six sols.

On Sols 2554 and 2556 (April 1 and 3, 2011), the rover drove over 100 meters (328 feet) due east on each sol. On Sol 2558 (April 5, 2011), the drive stopped short at only 64.6 meters (212 feet) of progress when the right bogie angle limit was exceeded.

The limit was set very tight to ensure safe driving. A modest terrain feature caused the limit to trip. After careful review that there was no safety concerns, the rover resumed driving on Sol 2559 (April 6, 2011), with a 65.4 meter (215 foot) drive to the southeast.

There continues to be a small increase in the motor currents for the right-front wheel. The project is tracking this.

Another diagnostic of the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) instrument was performed on Sol 2557 (April 4, 2011). Those diagnostics still indicate anomalous behavior.

The instrument investigation is continuing.

As of Sol 2559 (April 6, 2011), solar array energy production was 414 watt-hours with an elevated atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.910 and a solar array dust factor of 0.561.

Total odometry is 27,504.97 meters (27.50 kilometers, or 17.09 miles).



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Mars Exploration Rovers
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


MARSDAILY
Study Of 'Ruiz Garcia' Rock Completed
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 31, 2011
Opportunity completed the in-situ (contact) investigation on the surface target Ruiz Garcia at Santa Maria crater. On Sol 2520 (Feb. 25, 2011), the rover used the robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, or IDD) to collect a microscopic imager (MI) image mosaic of Ruiz Garcia. Then, it placed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) down on the target for multi-sol integration. ... read more







MARSDAILY
Japan's post-disaster economy faces electric shock

Japan sets power-saving targets

Mekong Countries To Convene Additional Meeting On Xayaburi Project

Facebook makes data centers greener and cheaper

MARSDAILY
OPEC raises 2011 world oil demand growth forecast

Turkish gas ambitions derail EU pipelines

Shale gas as dirty as oil, coal for warming: study

Outside View: Gas prices and consumers

MARSDAILY
Manitoba wind farm comes online

Alstom Announces Commercial Operation Of First North American Wind Farms

Vestas unveils new offshore turbine

US hopes to resolve China wind turbine rift

MARSDAILY
S.Africa to invest $3.7 bln in green energy: minister

Sacramento Welcomes 12,600 Solar Panels

Legends Business Group Adds Solar Charger Controllers

DOE Finalizes Large Loan Guarantee For BrightSource Energy

MARSDAILY
Japan utility suspends nuclear expansion after crisis

Researchers Improve Path To Producing Uranium Compounds For Advanced Nuclear Fuels

Switzerland says considering nuclear shutdown

Britain's plans for nuclear waste on hold

MARSDAILY
Nanoparticles Increase Biofuel

Economics, Physics Are Roadblocks For Mass-Scale Algae Biodiesel Production

Advance Toward Making Biodegradable Plastics From Waste Chicken Features

Short Rotation Energy Crops Could Help Meet UK's Renewable Energy Targets

MARSDAILY
Asia's star ever brighter in space

What Future for Chang'e-2

China setting up new rocket production base

China's Tiangong-1 To Be Launched By Modified Long March II-F Rocket

MARSDAILY
Shootingstars Provide Clues To Likely Response Of Plants To Global Warming

Europe faces drought and flood burden: climate scientist

Climate Change Poses Major Risks For Unprepared Cities

Rich, poor nations feud at UN climate talks


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights 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