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Dan Gaines |
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Matt Keuneke |
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Al Herrera |
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Colette Lohr |
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| P R E V I O U S M I S S I O N M A N A G E R S |
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Cindy Oda |
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Richard Morris |
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Bill Nelson |
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Byron Jones |
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Mark Adler |
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Leo Bister |
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Beth Dewell |
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Emily Eelkema |
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Jeff Favretto |
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Saina Ghandchi |
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Andy Mishkin |
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Art Thompson |
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Rick Welch |
sols 2137-2144,January 27 - February 3, 2010: Opportunity Arrives at 'Concepción' Crater
Opportunity has arrived at "Concepción," a very young 10-meter (33-foot) diameter crater.
On Sol 2138 (Jan. 28, 2010), Opportunity completed a 12-meter (39-foot) approach to the crater. After a few sols of careful imaging in and around the crater, Opportunity drove about 9 meters (30 feet) around the crater to approach some ejecta blocks that might be suitable for further in-situ (contact) investigation by all the instruments on the end of the robotic arm (instrument deployment device, or IDD).
Some of the rocks exhibit a dark crust, potentially impact melt. The right-front wheel currents continue to be well-behaved. No improvement has been observed yet in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) elevation mirror, which continues to be opened regularly to allow cleaning by the wind. As of Sol 2144 (Feb. 3, 2010), the solar array energy production was 270 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.415 and a dust factor of 0.470. Total odometry is 19,323.37 meters (12 miles).
sols 2131-2136,January 21-26, 2010: Approaching 'Concepción' Crater Rim
Opportunity has been driving towards "Concepción," a 10-meter (33-foot) diameter crater to the south of Marquette Island.
Concepción crater is assessed to be geologically very young with visible rays of ejecta radiating from the center of the crater. The Sol 2136 (Jan. 26, 2010), imagery shows many fragments of ejecta on the surface all around the crater. Opportunity is currently 20 meters (66 feet) north of the crater's rim.
In the plan ahead, Opportunity will approach within about 3 meters (10 feet) of the rim and begin a clockwise circumnavigation imaging campaign. Large eject fragments that would allow direct measurement with the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Mössbauer (MB) spectrometer are potential candidates for in-situ (contact) investigation. Opportunity will continue on towards Endeavour Crater once the Concepción campaign is completed.
The right-front wheel currents continue to be well-behaved. No improvement has been observed yet in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) elevation mirror, which continues to opened regularly for allow cleaning by the wind.
As of Sol 2136 (Jan. 26, 2010), the solar array energy production was 296 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.458 and a dust factor of 0.517. Total odometry is 19,302.88 meters (12 miles).
sols 2125-2130,January 15-20, 2010: Driving to 'Concepcion' Crater
Opportunity has been driving south toward a relatively young impact crater, called "Concepcion." The crater is estimated to be about 1,000 years old, the youngest crater to be explored on Mars.
The rover drove on Sols 2125 (Jan. 15, 2010), 2128 (Jan. 18, 2010) and 2130 (Jan. 20, 2010), totaling more than 170 meters (558 feet). The rover is now only about 100 meters (328 feet) away from the crater. The plan ahead is to conduct a circumnavigation imaging campaign of the 10-meter (33-foot) diameter crater.
The right-front wheel currents have been well-behaved. No improvement has been observed yet in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) elevation mirror, which continues to be opened regularly to allow cleaning by the wind.
As of Sol 2130 (Jan. 20, 2010), the solar array energy production was 304 watt-hours, with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.488 and a dust factor of 0.505. Total odometry is 19,216.21 meters (11.94 miles).
sols 2118-2124,January 7-14, 2010: Leaving Marquette Behind
Opportunity spent Sols 2118 to 2121 (Jan. 7-11, 2010; no sol number corresponds to Jan. 8 because no noon at Opportunity's location fell during that date's 24 hours Pacific Standard Time) completing the investigation of "Marquette Island," a curious rock on the plains of Meridiani. The alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) and the microscopic imager (MI) were used to examine a target on Marquette Island which was exposed by the rock abrasion tool (RAT) grind activities the previous week.
Opportunity drove away from Marquette Island on Sol 2122 (Jan. 12, 2010) continuing on the path toward Endeavour Crater. Further drives where executed on Sols 2123 and 2124 (Jan. 13 and 14, 2010). On Sol 2124, Opportunity crossed the 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) odometry milestone! A near-term science objective along the path towards Endeavour Crater is a relatively fresh impact crater, called "Conception," approximately 250 meters (820 feet) to the south.
As of Sol 2124 (Jan. 14, 2010), Opportunity's solar-array energy production is 336 watt-hours, with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.500 and a dust factor of 0.533. Total odometry is 19,025.92 meters (11.82 miles).
sols 2111-2117, December 31, 2009 - January 6, 2010: Brushing out the RAT Cuttings
Opportunity has been investigating the rock known as "Marquette Island." The rock abrasion tool (RAT) was used to grind a 1.5-millimeter-deep (0.06-inch-deep) hole in this very hard rock at the target called "Peck Bay 2." The alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) measurements of Peck Bay 2 were significantly different than the pre-grind measurements. Based on these results, Opportunity is spending another week at Marquette Island for more observations of Peck Bay 2.
Opportunity completed a RAT brush of the hole, clearing out the cuttings left by the grind. Microscopic imager (MI) mosaics confirmed the success this activity. Opportunity is continuing to complete APXS measurements of Peck Bay 2 at different positions.
The elevation mirror shroud of the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) is being opened when appropriate with the expectation of eventual dust cleaning. No dust cleaning of the Mini-TES mirror has been noted yet.
As of Sol 2117 (Jan. 6, 2010), Opportunity's solar-array energy production is 320 watt-hours, with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.438 and a dust factor of 0.519. Total odometry is 18,927.56 meters (11.76 miles).
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