Opportunity Rover Robotic Arm Within Reach of Rock Outcrop

Opportunity is ascending 'Solander Point' at the rim of 'Endeavour Crater.' The rover is maintaining favorable northerly tilts for improved energy production.

On Sol 3496 (Nov. 23, 2013), the rover bumped nearly 2 feet (half a meter) towards the target outcrop, called 'Moreton Island' to position reachable targets within the work volume of the robotic arm.

On Sol 3498 (Nov. 25, 2013), Opportunity began the in-situ (contact) investigation of the outcrop with the collection of a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic and then the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) for an overnight integration.

Additional APXS measurements, along with remote sensing images are planned over the Thanksgiving Holiday period.

As of Sol 3498 (Nov. 25, 2013), the solar array energy production was 310 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.603 and a solar array dust factor of 0.496.

Total odometry is 24.01 miles (38.65 kilometers).