SPIRIT UPDATE: Improving Northerly Tilt
- sols 2159-2165, January 29 - February 4, 2010:
Spirit is still embedded in the area called "Troy" on the west side of Home Plate.
Energy levels for Spirit have been decreasing rapidly as winter approaches. To increase energy production and to prepare for winter, the rover mobility system is being driven to improve northerly tilt.
On Sol 2161 (Jan. 31, 2010), Spirit drove her wheels backwards, employing several autonomous recovery techniques to prevent early termination of the drive from mobility faults. These autonomous recovery techniques have been effective in permitting the driving to continue much further than otherwise. Several centimeters of backward progress were made by the rover without further sinkage. Northerly tilt improved by about a degree. Every degree in improvement in northerly tilt enhances daily energy production by about 5 watt-hours.
On Sol 2165 (Feb. 4, 2010), another drive was sequenced. This drive achieved less progress and had only a modest improvement in tilt. The next drive plan is to cause the rover suspension to lift one side of the rover, improving northerly tilt. This is likely to be the last rover motion before winter, as energy levels are dropping below levels able to sustain driving. The project is configuring the rover's communication settings and fault parameters in preparation for the winter.
As of Sol 2165 (Feb. 1, 2010), the rover solar array energy production was to 188 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.359 and a dust factor of 0.523. Total odometry is 7,730.48 meters (4.80) miles.
Spirit Update Archive
Opportunity has arrived at "Concepción," a very young 10-meter (33-foot) diameter crater.
On Sol 2138 (Jan. 28, 2010), Opportunity completed a 12-meter (39-foot) approach to the crater. After a few sols of careful imaging in and around the crater, Opportunity drove about 9 meters (30 feet) around the crater to approach some ejecta blocks that might be suitable for further in-situ (contact) investigation by all the instruments on the end of the robotic arm (instrument deployment device, or IDD).
Some of the rocks exhibit a dark crust, potentially impact melt. The right-front wheel currents continue to be well-behaved. No improvement has been observed yet in the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) elevation mirror, which continues to be opened regularly to allow cleaning by the wind. As of Sol 2144 (Feb. 3, 2010), the solar array energy production was 270 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.415 and a dust factor of 0.470. Total odometry is 19,323.37 meters (12 miles).
