Opportunity is at the top of "Perseverance Valley" on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The plan before proceeding down the valley is to perform a walk-about survey above the valley.
To start the walkabout, on Sol 4746 (May 31, 2017) Opportunity drove about 82 feet (24.9 meters) mostly south toward a chosen waypoint. Images for extensive panoramas were collected with the Navigation Camera (Navcam) and the Panoramic Camera (Pancam).
On Sol 4748 (June 2, 2017), the rover took advantage of an opportunity to address some long-standing liens by imaging the grind bit of the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) and by collecting some Microscopic Imager (MI) sky flats, both of which require extensive robotic arm movement.
On Sol 4750 (June 4, 2017), the plan was to perform a short, tight backward arc, but the left-front steering actuator stalled. With the left-front wheel steered to more than 30 degrees from straight, the focus of the team is first to assess whether this stall was a terrain related phenomenon.
So, on Sol 4752 (June 6, 2017), the rover arced back without steering the left-front wheel and imaged the location of the steering stall. Although there is evidence to suggest a terrain effect, it is not conclusive. The next step will be a careful attempt to straighten the left-front wheel. The plan on Sol 4754 (June 8, 2017) is to gently turn the wheel straight.
As of Sol 4752 (June 6, 2017), the solar array energy production is 362 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.788 and a solar array dust factor of 0.530.
Total odometry as of Sol 4752 is 27.87 miles (44.86 kilometers).
Opportunity Surveying the spillway into Perseverance Valley
Opportunity is at the top of Perseverance Valley on the rim of Endeavour crater. The plan before proceeding down the valley is to survey the valley from the top and to perform a walk-about survey above the spillway. The entirety of this most recent period was spent doing extensive imagery in support of the survey of the spillway.
In particular, pancam mosaics from the second station of the … read more
