Daily Updates - June 10, 2004
Opportunity Status at end of sol 127-129

Engineers and scientists on the Mars Exploration Rover project continue to contemplate the safety and viability of a trek into "Endurance Crater."

After a "deep sleep" overnight, Opportunity began its 127th sol with a three and one-half hour nap. Upon awaking, the rover drove 50 meters (164 feet) on a directed drive, turned to face Endurance Crater and took images using its front hazard-avoidance cameras. Opportunity then performed 45 minutes of remote sensing using the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rover then supported an afternoon and overnight Mars Odyssey data pass.

Foregoing deep sleep over the sol 127 night, sol 128 was spent approaching the crater rim. The drive took about 10 minutes and moved Opportunity 13.4 meters (44 feet), coming to rest about 5 meters (16.4 feet) from the lip of the crater. The remainder of the day was spent supporting two afternoon Odyssey passes. The rover then underwent its sixth deep sleep cycle into the morning of sol 129.

On sol 129, it was decided that Opportunity was not in the most advantageous location for entering the crater. The rover was commanded to move approximately 50 meters (164 feet) back along the crater rim, close to the rock called "Lion Stone." After a 4.5-meter (14.7 feet) bump toward the rim and some navigation and hazard-avoidance camera images, the rover backed up 4.5 meters (14.8 feet) and then drove 8 meters (26.2 feet) toward Lion Stone. Power limited the total drive duration. Instead of utilizing the deep sleep mode overnight into sol 130, Opportunity again supported two Odyssey passes that returned a large volume of data to Earth.

After sol 129, Opportunity’s odometer read 1,395.91 meters (4,579.76 feet).

Sols 130 and beyond will see Opportunity drive farther toward the possible point of ingress (entry).

Opportunity Daily Update Archive