NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Descends Deeper into “Victoria Crater”
sol 1322-1328, Nov 05, 2007:
After successfully maneuvering into position and collecting additional scientific data from the top layer of the ring of light-colored rocks inside “Victoria Crater,” Opportunity drove even farther into the crater’s interior. Both “Steno,” which the rover has been studying, and the next-lowest layer of light-colored rock, nicknamed “Smith,” are part of a light-colored band of material that circumvents the interior of Victoria Crater partway below the surface.
Opportunity is in excellent health and has been receiving an average of 655 watt-hours per Martian day from the rover’s solar arrays (100 watt-hours is the amount of energy needed to light a 100-watt bulb for 1 hour).
On sol 1321 (Oct. 12, 2007), Opportunity successfully stowed the robotic arm and “bumped” a short distance to a second target on Steno. At the new target, nicknamed “Hall,” Opportunity acquired an extra-large mosaic of stereo (3D) microscopic images. A typical microscopic image mosaic consists of 5 to 7 frames. In this case, Opportunity acquired 18 frames at multiple focal distances to help eliminate dust in the images. Opportunity also spent 17 hours and 45 minutes collecting compositional data about Hall with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.
On Monday and Tuesday, Opportunity did not have coverage from NASA’s Deep Space Network of antennas and spent the time collecting remote sensing data from science targets. The rover executed two sols of “run-out,” when the rover follows the same control sequence but does not conduct any new science investigations. On such occasions, the rover transmits data as usual and attempts to activate a new master sequence of instructions the following sol.
Sol-by-sol summary:
In addition to standard observations that included measurements of atmospheric dust with the panoramic and navigation cameras, surveys of the sky and ground with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer, and transfers of data to Earth via the Odyssey orbiter, Opportunity completed the following activities:
Sol 1322 (Oct. 13, 2007): Opportunity surveyed the grinding bit on the rock abrasion tool and acquired a 1-by-1-by-18 stereo, microscopic image mosaic of the rock target known as Hall. Opportunity collected 17 hours and 45 minutes worth of compositional data from Hall using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer. The next morning, the rover surveyed the sky with the panoramic camera.
Sol 1323: Opportunity completed another survey of the sky at high sun using the panoramic camera, then scanned the sky for clouds using the navigation camera. After taking thorough measurements of atmospheric dust, the rover went into a deep sleep. The next morning, Opportunity took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera and scanned the sky for clouds with the navigation camera.
Sol 1324: Opportunity did not conduct new science activities because the rover did not have coverage from the Deep Space Network.
Sol 1325: Opportunity did not conduct new science activities because the rover did not have coverage from the Deep Space Network.
Sol 1326: Opportunity did not conduct new science activities because the rover did not have coverage from the Deep Space Network.
Sol 1327: Opportunity acquired a mosaic of images looking up toward “Cape Verde,” a promontory on the rim of Victoria Crater, using the panoramic camera. The rover acquired full-color images of Smith using all 13 filters of the camera. Opportunity stowed the robotic arm and acquired full-color images of Hall, then drove toward the layer known as Smith. Following the drive, Opportunity took images of the surrounding terrain with the hazard avoidance and navigation cameras and unstowed the robotic arm. After communicating with the Odyssey orbiter, the rover went into a deep sleep. The next morning, the rover took spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera and searched for clouds with the navigation camera.
Sol 1328 (Oct. 19, 2007): Plans called for Opportunity to acquire thumbnail images of the sky with the panoramic camera, scan the sky for clouds with the navigation camera, and acquire data from the external calibration target with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover was scheduled to take a nap until 2 p.m. local Mars time and acquire a mosaic of atmospheric dust with the panoramic camera. The following morning, Opportunity was to survey the sky with the panoramic camera.
Odometry:
As of sol 1327 (Oct. 18, 2007), Opportunity’s total odometry was 11,577.99 meters (7.19 miles).
