NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Takes a Victory Lap

sol 1661-1668, September 25-30, 2008:

A journey of 7.5 miles began with a partial victory lap around “Victoria Crater,” as Opportunity headed south toward enormous “Endeavour Crater.” Partway around the circuit, Opportunity passed the 7.5-mile mark of the mission. In metric terms, the rover began a 12,000-meter, cross- country trek by ending a similar 12,000-meter journey across uncharted terrain and in and out of craters.

Opportunity also chalked up the second-longest drive of the mission on sol 1663 (Sept. 27, 2008), advancing 153 meters (500 feet). Three days later, Opportunity drove another 129 meters (423 feet), on sol 1666 (Sept. 30, 2008).

Along the way, the rover took advantage of opportunities to explore rock layers and other features visible from the rim of Victoria Crater. The first drive of the trek on Martian day, or sol, 1661 (Sept. 25, 2008) included a drive-by photo shoot with the camera pointed at a small crater known as “Sputnik Crater” on the edge of Victoria. That drive covered 27 meters (89 feet).

Drive performance has been excellent, with very little wheel slippage on this terrain. As a result, Opportunity is now in position to approach Victoria Crater again. This time, the rover’s itinerary will take it onto a promontory called “Cape Victory” for a photo shoot of rock layers visible in a neighboring promontory known as “Cape Pillar.”

On its journey to the southeast, Opportunity will have route-planning assistance from super high-resolution images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Rover operators will use the images, which reveal details as small as individual boulders, to plot the safest path.

Opportunity remains healthy, with all subsystems performing as expected as of Martian day, or sol, 1666 (Sept. 30, 2008). Power continues to improve, with sunlight generating 654 watt-hours of solar energy — enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 6.5 hours (100 watt-hours is the amount of energy needed to light a 100-watt bulb for one hour.)

Sol-by-sol summary:

Besides measuring daily, dust-related changes in atmospheric clarity with the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed the following activities:

Sol 1661 (Sept. 25, 2008): Midway through the sol’s drive, Opportunity acquired a 3-by-1 panel of images of Sputnik using the navigation camera. The rover acquired a 2-by-1 panel of forward-looking images with the navigation camera. Before relaying data to NASA’s Odyssey orbiter for transmission to Earth, Opportunity took several tiers of post- drive images, including a 4-by-1 tier with the panoramic camera as well as 3-by-1 and 7-by-1 tiers with the navigation camera.

Sol 1662: In the morning, Opportunity took thumbnail images of the sky for calibration purposes with the panoramic camera. After sending data to Odyssey, Opportunity measured argon gas in the Martian atmosphere using the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1663: Opportunity searched for morning clouds by acquiring six, freeze-frame images to be stitched together into a movie. Before the day’s drive, Opportunity acquired a 3-by-1 mosaic of images of Sputnik, an image of another small crater nicknamed “Gauss,” and a ripple profile with the panoramic camera. Opportunity made the second-longest, single-day drive of the mission, traveling a distance of 152 meters (449 feet). The rover acquired rearward-looking images of the ground near its wheels with the hazard-avoidance cameras and relayed data to Odyssey.

Sol 1664: Opportunity searched for morning clouds by acquiring six movie frames with the navigation camera. The rover acquired a 2-by-1 panel of forward-looking images with the navigation camera. After driving another 129 meters (423 feet), Opportunity acquired a 3-by-1 tier of navigation-camera images and a 7-by-1 and 6-by-1 tier of panoramic-camera images. Using all 13 color filters of the panoramic camera, Opportunity completed a systematic survey and took images of the external magnets. After sending data to Odyssey, the rover measured atmospheric argon.

Sol 1665: In the morning, Opportunity took spot images of the sky for calibration purposes with the panoramic camera. The rover surveyed the sky at high Sun and also measured albedo — surface brightness — with the panoramic camera. After relaying data to Odyssey, Opportunity measured argon gas in the atmosphere with the alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer.

Sol 1666 (Sept. 30, 2008): Opportunity took morning thumbnail images of the sky for calibration purposes with the panoramic camera. In conjunction with the day’s drive, the rover took a 2-by-1 panel of forward-looking images with the navigation camera. Opportunity acquired a 3-by-1 and a 7-by-1 post-drive tier of images with the navigation camera as well as a 4-by-1 panel of images with the panoramic camera. After sending data to Odyssey, Opportunity measured atmospheric argon. Plans for the following day called for the rover to take spot images of the sky with the panoramic camera, monitor dust accumulation on the rover mast, and acquire a six-frame movie in search of Martian clouds.

Odometry:

As of sol 1666 (Sept. 30, 2008), Opportunity’s total odometry was 12,188.15 meters (7.53 miles).