NASA Mars Opportunity Rover Update: Opportunity Studies Rock Outcrop

Opportunity Status for sol 2608-2614: Opportunity has exceeded 30 kilometers (nearly 19 miles) of odometry! The rover spent the last few sols investigating some exposed rock outcrop en route to Endeavour crater, now just a few kilometers away.

On Sol 2608 (May 26, 2011), Opportunity bumped 60 centimeters (24 inches) to position the outcrop targets within reach of the robotic arm instruments. On Sol 2611 (May 29, 2011), the rover used the Microscopic Imager (MI) to collect an extensive mosaic of the exposed outcrop. Opportunity then conducted a MI poker test, which exhibited anomalous behavior the last time it was used. The test indicated positive switch trip on just one of three tries. The project is investigating this further.

The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) was placed on the surface target, named Valdivia for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 2614 (June 1, 2011), Opportunity drove away with a 146-meter (479-foot) drive, crossing the 30 kilometer (18.64 mile) odometry mark.

As of Sol 2614 (June 1, 2011), solar array energy production was 408 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.860 and a solar array dust factor of 0.545.

Total odometry is 30,055.50 meters (30.06 kilometers, or 18.68 miles).