Opportunity just 6 kilometers from Endeavour rim

No communication has been received from Spirit since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

The rover drove on Sols 2560, 2561 and 2562 (April 7, 8 and 9, 2011), covering over 250 meters (820 feet) to the southeast. The rover's right front wheel motor currents have settled down to more reasonable levels.

Opportunity refined its attitude knowledge with a calibration activity on its inertial measurement unit (IMU). With the pace of driving, these calibrations are done more frequently. The drive planned for Sol 2565 (April 12, 2011), did not occur because a Deep Space Network antenna tracking issue prevented the commands from reaching the rover.

As of Sol 2565 (April 12, 2011), solar array energy production was 390 watt-hours with an elevated atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.919 and a solar array dust factor of 0.5355.

Total odometry is 27,818.48 meters (27.82 kilometers, or 17.29 miles).

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
High resolution image (4.9 MB)

This observation by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is of the northwest rim of Endeavour Crater, which is the Opportunity rover's immediate driving goal on Mars. The image shows the whitish sulfate sedimentary rocks peeking beneath the dark sand that Opportunity has been driving on, layered material deposited around the crater rim, and the reddish material of the crater rim. CRISM spectral information indicates a number of different hydrated sulfates in the whitish material beneath the sand and phyllosilicates, or water bearing clay minerals, in the reddish rim. The phyllosilicates are believed to have formed prior to the sulfates, during a wet period that was near neutral acidity (and not like the very acid conditions that formed the sulfates). Phyllosilicates are the focus of all of the landing sites being considered for the next rover, Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled to launch in late 2011.




Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Opportunity Panoramic Camera raw image from Sol 2563.

Spirit remains silent at Troy

Deep Space Network X-band listening and commanding covering a range of frequencies and local solar times on Mars is continuing. Selected over flights by the relay orbiters are exercised to elicit a response from the rover through the separate Ultra-high frequency (UHF) system.

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

Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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