Opportunity has paused in her trek toward Endeavour crater to examine an exposed outcrop of rock that is of interest to the science team.

On Sol 2336 (Aug. 19, 2010), the rover performed a 7-meter (23-foot) backward turn with a forward bump to approach the outcrop contact. On the next sol, Opportunity performed a short turn to place surface targets within reach of the robotic arm (Instrument Deployment Device, IDD).

On Sol 2339 (Aug. 23, 2010), Opportunity conducted a relay test pass with Mars Express as part of a regular checkout of the Mars Express relay.

On the next sol, the rover used the robotic arm to collect a microscopic imager (MI) mosaic of a surface target, called "Clarin Beach," which was followed by a placement of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on the same target for integration.

On Sol 2341 (Aug. 25, 2010), Opportunity continued the investigation of this outcrop contact, collecting another set of microscopic imager mosaics of new targets and then a placement of the APXS on a target called "Duero Beach."

As of Sol 2340 (Aug. 24, 2010), solar array energy production was 562 watt-hours with atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.334 and the solar array dust factor of 0.7285.

Total odometry as is 22,647.85 meters (22.65 kilometers, or 14.07 miles)

Share This Article With Planet Earth