NASA Mars Rovers Status 6 Apr 2004

Opportunity Status for sol 70 100-Meter Dash Apr. 6, 12:45 pm PST

Opportunity "dashed" away from the rim of its
"Eagle Crater" landing-site on sol 70, which ended
at 6:20 a.m. PST on April 5. The roughly 100-meter
(about 328 feet) drive led the rover to a target area
dubbed "Anatolia," along a sinuous crack in the
plains of Meridiani Planum defined by deep
impressions in the sand sprinkled with Eagle
Crater-like rocks. In the coming sols Opportunity
will further investigate the rocks in this
"mini-outcrop."

Before leaving the vicinity of Eagle Crater,
Opportunity performed a maneuver on "Bounce"
rock lightheartedly called "crush and go" by the
rover engineers. In order to gather further
information about the rock’s hardness, the
intentional drive over Bounce was an attempt to
fracture it. The science team is awaiting images
from the rover’s rear hazard avoidance camera to
see the results.

An appropriate tune – "Truckin’" by The Greatful
Dead – woke Opportunity this sol.