Opportunity has been investigating the rock known as "Marquette Island" over the last couple of weeks. This target is proving to be something unique that Opportunity has not encountered in more than 2000 Sols of exploring Mars.
The science team is theorizing this rock could be either be a type of meteorite that Opportunity has never seen before or it could be ejecta from deep within the Martian crust that might provide clues to Mars' geologic past.
The rover completed Moessbauer (MB) spectrometer and Alpha-Particle-X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) measurements on a rock target named "Peck Bay" last week.
Peck Bay was also lightly brushed by the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT), which removed a layer of dust on the rock to expose the material beneath.
To gain additional information on Marquette Island, Opportunity has repeated the same set of measurements on an adjacent target called "Islington Bay."
The miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) elevation mirror shroud is being opened when appropriate with the expectation of eventual dust cleaning.
No dust cleaning of the Mini-TES mirror has been noted yet. As of Sol 2075 (Nov. 24, 2009), the solar array energy production was 371 watt-hours, with an atmospheric opacity (tau) of 0.512 and a dust factor of 0.520. Total odometry was 18,906.82 meters (11.75 miles).
Share This Article With Planet Earth
