NASA Mars Rovers Status Report 20 Mar 2004

Opportunity Status for sol 54 – Sightseeing at Sweet Spots – posted Mar. 20, 3 pm PST

Opportunity flipped 115 meters (377.3 feet) on its odometer during
the latest drives along the current soil survey campaign, surpassing
the total drive distance of 1997’s Sojourner rover. After performing
a "touch and go" sequence at the third soil target south of the
Challenger Memorial Station, Opportunity moved east to its fourth
target. There the rover used its wheels to dig a trench that will
be studied in coming sols.

The sol, which ended at 6:46 p.m. PST on March 19, started with brief
alpha particle X-ray and Moessbauer spectrometer measurements on the
soil target known as "Coconut2." These were followed by two sets of
microscopic imager shots of Coconut2 and "ChocolateChip." The rover
then stowed its arm and drove.

Remote sensing with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and
the panoramic camera remote sensing was performed before, during, and
after the drive and trenching activities. Also, Opportunity took
additional images with its navigation camera imaging in preparation
for next sol’s drive to the final site inside the crater.

To prepare for the trenching on this sol, the wake-up song was "I
Feel The Earth Move" by Carole King.