Opportunity tests new driving skills; Spirit remains silent

Opportunity continued making progress towards Endeavour Crater, testing new driving techniques along the way.

Spirit remains silent at her location on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

On Sol 2358 (Sept. 11, 2010), Opportunity drove over 106 meters (348 feet) in a series of steps. The last segment of the long drive was a simulated test of autonomous navigation (AutoNav) using rear hazard avoidance camera (Hazcam) imagery, while driving backwards. Autonomous navigation is limited for backwards driving because the rover's low-gain antenna (LGA) is in the field of view for the mast (PMA) mounted cameras. The rear hazard avoidance cameras don't have that obstruction. Further tests of the technique are being planned.

Opportunity drove again on Sol 2361 (Sept. 14, 2010), covering over 54 meters (177 feet) to the southeast. Investigation of the Mössbauer (MB) spectrometer continues. A test of the MB at cold temperatures was performed on Sol 2358 (Sept. 11, 2010). That test exhibited the anomalous instrument behavior at both the start and the end of the 30-minute integration. An earlier test (on Sol 2355, Sept. 8, 2010) at warmer temperatures had the instrument functioning normally. Tests at other temperatures are planned to map the temperature-dependent behavior. As of Sol 2361 (Sept. 14, 2010), solar array energy production was 577 watt-hours with a slightly increased atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.568 and the solar array dust factor of 0.740.

Total odometry is 23,234.31 meters (23.23 kilometers, or 14.44 miles).

Spirit remains silent at Troy

Spirit remains silent at her location on the west side of Home Plate. No communication has been received from the rover since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

It is likely that Spirit has experienced a low-power fault and has turned off all sub-systems, including communication and gone into a deep sleep, trying to recharge her batteries. The rover internal electronics will experience colder temperatures than previous winters, because heaters will be shut off. There is the additional risk that the rover may trip a mission clock fault.

The project is listening for Spirit with the Deep Space Network and the Mars Odyssey orbiter for autonomous recovery communication from the low-power fault case and conducting a "Sweep & Beep" strategy to stimulate the rover in the case of a mission clock fault.

Although power levels are estimated to be improving with the advancing springtime in the southern hemisphere of Mars, atmospheric conditions historically deteriorate (higher atmospheric opacity) at this time. Thus, a response from Spirit is still not expected for some time.

Total odometry is unchanged at 7,730.50 meters (4.80 miles).

 

Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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