SKY NIGHTLY
SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS
← MARS  |  Home MARS

Rock Studies Continue for Opportunity

by Staff Writers Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 21, 2012 JPL

Opportunity is positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater with an approximate 15-degree northerly tilt for favorable solar energy production.

While positioned for the winter, Opportunity is conducting regular radio Doppler tracking measurements to support geo-dynamic investigations of the planet, in-situ (contact) science investigations of the rock target, "Amboy," including an extended Microscopic Imager mosaic, and continued collection of the 13-filter (stereo) 360-degree "Greeley" panorama.

The Moessbauer spectrometer is currently on the surface target Amboy and is collecting a very long, (multi-sol) integration. Radio Doppler tracking passes were performed on Sols 2861 (Feb. 10, 2012) and 2863 (Feb. 12, 2012). More segments of the Greeley panorama were collected.

As of Sol 2865 (Feb. 14, 2012), solar array energy production was 274 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.678 and a solar array dust factor of 0.467.

Total odometry is unchanged at 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

Buy Advertising About Us Editorial & Other Enquiries Privacy statement
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes.