Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Travel News .




MARSDAILY
Rover's Current Location Makes Communications a Challenge
by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 28, 2015


File image.

Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater conducting a walk-about survey for clay minerals.

The rover's current location within Marathon Valley with its high walls to the north and west presents a challenge for low-elevation Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) relay passes to the west. On Sol 4141 (Sept. 17, 2015), no data were received as the orbiter's flight path was below the elevation on the valley ridgeline.

On that sol, the rover did successfully perform an in-situ science campaign on the surface target, 'Pvt. George Gibson' that included a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic and the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). Some of those data were received on subsequent sols. On Sol 4144 (Sept. 20, 2015), another MI mosaic was taken and the robotic armed stowed for a future drive.

Once again, the high ridgeline of the valley obscured the low-elevation pass on Sol 4145 (Sept. 21, 2015), and little data were received.

On Sol 4146 (Sept. 22, 2015), Opportunity was configured from RAM-only operation to Flash as a planned test of the non-volatile storage system. The drive on that sol completed successfully, but an amnesia event with Flash prevented a return of drive-related data on that sol. Those data are expected to be received on subsequent sols. The plan forward is to continue to operate in Flash for one week in order to gain information and statistics on the state of the Flash storage system.

As of Sol 4146 (Sept. 22, 2015), the solar array energy production was 335 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.539 and a solar array dust factor of 0.569.

Total odometry is (26.43 miles) 42.53 kilometers, more than a marathon.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Opportunity Rover at JPL
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





MARSDAILY
Opportunity Continues Search for Clay Minerals On Mars
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 22, 2015
Opportunity is within 'Marathon Valley' on the west rim of Endeavour Crater conducting a walk-about in search of clay minerals. The rover is operating in persistent RAM mode (not using Flash for data storage). On Sol 4133 (Sept. 9, 2015), the rover used the robotic arm to collect a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic of a surface target and then place the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS ... read more


MARSDAILY
Ariane 5 ready to orbit Sky Muster and ARSAT-2 on September 30

Air Force welcomes Blue Origin to Launch Complex 36

Arianespace targets record year of new business and launch operations in 2015

Moscow to Launch Telecom Satellites on Rokot Carrier Rocket

MARSDAILY
Evidence of brine 'flows' on Mars: water study

Celebrating one year of Mars Orbiter Mission in Orbit; Release of Mars Atlas

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars

Space experts swoon for 'The Martian' despite inaccuracies

MARSDAILY
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's Dance with Eclipses

China to rehearse new carrier rocket for lunar mission

NASA's LRO discovers Earth's pull is 'massaging' our moon

Moon's crust as fractured as can be

MARSDAILY
New 'Snakeskin' Image and More from New Horizons

Pluto 'Wows' in Spectacular New Backlit Panorama

New photos reveal Pluto's stunning geological diversity: NASA

New Pluto Images from New Horizons: It's Complicated

MARSDAILY
Stellar atmosphere can be used to predict the composition of rocky exoplanets

Watching an exoplanet in motion around a distant star

Study: 'Hot Jupiter' exoplanets formed extremely rapidly

Europlanet 2020 launches new era of planetary collaboration in Europe

MARSDAILY
'Mars and Back on a Tank of Gas': NASA's Fuel Efficiency Record Smashed

United Launch Alliance Picks US Rocket Engine Over Rival Russian One

First manned flight of NASA's Orion may be delayed to 2023

Construction Begins on Test Version of Important Connection for SLS

MARSDAILY
China's new carrier rocket succeeds in 1st trip

China launches new type of carrier rocket: state media

Long March-2D carrier rocket blasts off in NW China

Progress for Tiangong 2

MARSDAILY
Impact produced comet's rubber duck shape: study

Rosetta reveals comet's water-ice cycle

New Space Mining Tech Could Be Game-Changer for Interstellar Travel

Solar Observatory discovers its 3,000th comet




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.