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MARSDAILY
Opportunity Dust Levels Back to Normal
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 11, 2014


File image.

Opportunity is on the west rim of Endeavour Crater heading towards 'Marathon Valley,' a putative location for abundant clay minerals about a mile (1.6 kilometers) to the south.

The rover has completed the investigation of the Ulysses crater and is exiting the ejecta field to resume the strategic drive south. The regional dust storms that had raised atmospheric opacity (tau) have abated and the tau is returning to normal seasonal levels. On Sols 3827 and 3828 (Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 2014), Opportunity drove 38 feet (11.6 meters) and 39 feet (12.0 meters), respectively in rocky terrain to exit the Ulysses crater ejecta field.

On Sol 3829 (Oct. 31, 2014), the rover again drove to complete the exit from the ejecta field, but high slip terminated the drive after just 5 feet (1.5 meters). A careful assessment indicated the rover was safe and the cause of the slip was the high slopes and loose soil.

On Sol 3832 (Nov. 3, 2014), a modified drive of over 105 feet (32 meters) permitted the rover to safely exit the ejecta field. On Sols 3833 and 3834 (Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, 2014), Opportunity headed south with drives of 106 feet (32.4 metes) and 132 feet (40.25 meters) respectively. The project has also implemented a more advanced diagnostic for amnesia events, if any occur. The rover continues in good health.

As of Sol 3834 (Nov. 6, 2014), the solar array energy production was 505 watt-hours with an improved atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 1.359 and a solar array dust factor of 0.711.

Total odometry is 25.45 miles (40.95 kilometers).


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Mars rover had good opportunities to image passing comet
Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 21, 2014
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured images of a comet passing much closer to Mars than any previous known comet flyby of Earth or Mars. The images of comet Siding Spring were taken against a backdrop of the pre-dawn Martian sky on Sunday (Oct. 19). Images of comet A1 Siding Spring from the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) are online a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceima ... read more


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