Daily Updates - March 20, 2004
Opportunity Status at end of sol 54

Opportunity flipped 115 meters (377.3 feet) on its odometer during the latest drives along the current soil survey campaign, surpassing the total drive distance of 1997's Sojourner rover. After performing a "touch and go" sequence at the third soil target south of the Challenger Memorial Station, Opportunity moved east to its fourth target. There the rover used its wheels to dig a trench that will be studied in coming sols.

The sol, which ended at 6:46 p.m. PST on March 19, started with brief alpha particle X-ray and Moessbauer spectrometer measurements on the soil target known as "Coconut2." These were followed by two sets of microscopic imager shots of Coconut2 and "ChocolateChip." The rover then stowed its arm and drove.

Remote sensing with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the panoramic camera remote sensing was performed before, during, and after the drive and trenching activities. Also, Opportunity took additional images with its navigation camera imaging in preparation for next sol's drive to the final site inside the crater.

To prepare for the trenching on this sol, the wake-up song was "I Feel The Earth Move" by Carole King.

Opportunity Daily Update Archive