{"id":2678,"date":"2013-06-09T14:47:49","date_gmt":"2013-06-09T14:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2678"},"modified":"2013-06-09T14:47:49","modified_gmt":"2013-06-09T14:47:49","slug":"opportunity-on-the-move-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2678","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity on the move again"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Opportunity Rover<\/a> keeps on exploring. Here is an update on what it has been doing lately and where it is going next (see slideshow<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Mars Rover Opportunity Trekking Toward More Layers<\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

PASADENA, Calif. – Approaching its 10th anniversary of leaving Earth, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is on the move again, trekking to a new study area still many weeks away.<\/p>\n

The destination, called “Solander Point,” offers Opportunity access to a much taller stack of geological layering than the area where the rover has worked for the past 20 months, called “Cape York.” Both areas are raised segments of the western rim of Endeavour Crater, which is about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter.<\/p>\n

“Getting to Solander Point will be like walking up to a road cut where you see a cross section of the rock layers,” said Ray Arvidson of Washington University, St. Louis, deputy principal investigator for the mission.<\/p>\n

Solander Point also offers plenty of ground that is tilted toward the north, which is favorable for the solar-powered rover to stay active and mobile through the coming Martian southern-hemisphere winter.<\/p>\n

“We’re heading to a 15-degree north-facing slope with a goal of getting there well before winter,” said John Callas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., project manager for the Mars Exploration Rover Project. The minimum-sunshine days of this sixth Martian winter for Opportunity will come in February 2014.<\/p>\n

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project launched twin rovers in 2003: Spirit on June 10 and Opportunity on July 7. Both rovers landed in January 2004, completed three-month prime missions and began years of bonus, extended missions. Both found evidence of wet environments on ancient Mars. Spirit ceased operations during its fourth Martian winter, in 2010. Opportunity shows symptoms of aging, such as loss of motion in some joints, but continues to accomplish groundbreaking exploration and science.<\/p>\n

Shortly before leaving Cape York last month, Opportunity used the rock abrasion tool, the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and the microscopic imager on its robotic arm to examine a rock called “Esperance” and found a combination of elements pointing to clay-mineral composition.<\/p>\n

“The Esperance results are some of the most important findings of our entire mission,” said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the mission. “The composition tells us about the environmental conditions that altered the minerals. A lot of water moved through this rock.”<\/p>\n

Cape York exposes just a few yards, or meters, of vertical cross-section through geological layering. Solander Point exposes roughly 10 times as much. Researchers hope to find evidence about different stages in the history of ancient Martian environments. The rim of Endeavour Crater displays older rocks than what Opportunity examined at Eagle, Endurance, Victoria and Santa Maria craters during the first eight years of the rover’s work on Mars.<\/p>\n

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. For more about Spirit and Opportunity, visit http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/rovers<\/a> and http:\/\/marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov<\/a> . You can follow the project on Twitter and on Facebook at: http:\/\/twitter.com\/MarsRovers<\/a> and http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mars.rovers<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Opportunity Rover keeps on exploring. Here is an update on what it has been doing lately and where it is going next (see slideshow): Mars Rover Opportunity Trekking Toward More Layers PASADENA, Calif. – Approaching its 10th anniversary of leaving Earth, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is on the move again, trekking to a … Continue reading Opportunity on the move again<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-Hc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3201,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3201","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":0},"title":"The latest on the Opportunity Mars rover","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's an extended update on what the Oppportunity Rover has been up to and where it is headed in the coming months:\u00a0 Mars Exploration Rovers Mission Update: Opportunity Continues Sprint to Solander Point - The Planetary Society. NASA \/ JPL-Caltech \/ Cornell \/ ASU Nobby's Head Opportunity used her Pancam\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6564,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6564","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":1},"title":"Mars orbiter image shows Opportunity Rover","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"[Reposting after the original somehow got deleted.] Here\u2019s another great photo from the\u00a0HiRISE camera\u00a0aboard the\u00a0Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter\u00a0: Opportunity Rover on Valentine's Day 2014 This is the latest HiRISE image of Opportunity rover\u00a0at Solander Point, where it spent a few weeks\u00a0investigating Pinnacle rock\u00a0(the \u201cjelly donut\u201d) that was flipped over by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"ESP_035408_1775[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ESP_035408_17751.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12785,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12785","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":2},"title":"Mars rover Opportunity wrapping up study of Marathon Valley","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Mars \u00a0rover\u00a0Opportunity, in operation since January 2004, continues to explore and make new discoveries. Here is its latest\u00a0report: Rover Opportunity Wrapping up Study of Martian Valley \"Marathon Valley,\" slicing through a large crater's rim on Mars, has provided fruitful research targets for NASA's Opportunity rover since July 2015, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"IDL TIFF file","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/opportunity-mars-rover-panorama-marathon-valley-pia20749-br21-1024x350.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15624,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15624","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":3},"title":"The Opportunity rover continues going strong after 5000 Martian days","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Mars rover Opportunity landed on the Red Planet on Jan. 25, 2004. Nearly 5000 Martian days later, the robust little robot continues to explore and make discoveries. Here are two items from NASA JPL about Opportunity: **\u00a05,000 Days on Mars; Solar-Powered Rover Approaching 5,000th Martian Dawn The Sun will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/PIA22221_hires1-1024x803.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7132,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=7132","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":4},"title":"Opportunity rover: Takes shadow portrait + Gets power boost from wind","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Opportunity rover on Mars is becoming artistic in its old age: Shadow Portrait of NASA Rover Opportunity on Martian Slope NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity caught its own silhouette in this late-afternoon image taken by the rover's rear hazard avoidance camera. This camera is mounted low on the rover\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mars"","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shadow portrait of NASA rover Opportunity ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/946xvariable_height\/public\/pia17956.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16200,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16200","url_meta":{"origin":2678,"position":5},"title":"Huge Martian dust storm cuts power to the Opportunity rover","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As happens occasionally, a giant dust storm has arisen on Mars and the resulting cloudy sky has cut power to the Opportunity rover. Unlike the nuclear powered Curiosity, \"Oppy\" uses solar panels to supply its energy needs. 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