M I S S I O N     M A N A G E R S
	Scott Lever		Mike Seibert		Al Herrera

P R E V I O U S    M I S S I O N    M A N A G E R S
	Matt Keuneke		Cindy Oda		Richard Morris		Bill Nelson

	Byron Jones		Mark Adler		Leo Bister		Beth Dewell

	Emily Eelkema		Jeff Favretto		Saina Ghandchi		Andy Mishkin

	Art Thompson		Rick Welch		Colette Lohr		Dan Gaines

2004  | 2005  | 2006  | 2007  | 2008  | 2009  | 2010  | 2011  | 2012

sols 2853-2859, February 01-08, 2012: Energy Levels Decreasing

Opportunity is positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater with an approximate 15-degree northerly tilt for favorable solar energy production.

While positioned for the winter, Opportunity is conducting regular radio Doppler tracking measurements to support geo-dynamic investigations of the planet, in-situ (contact) science investigations of the rock target, "Amboy," including an extended Microscopic Imager mosaic, and continued collection of the 13-filter 360-degree "Greeley" panorama.

Additionally, during the late afternoon radio Doppler tracking passes, the rover is collecting spectacular low-light (low sun elevation) images. Decreasing energy levels with the approach to the winter solstice has constrained conducting both a radio Doppler tracking pass and an afternoon Ultra High Frequency relay pass on the same sol. The operations team performs energy trades on the tactical timeline as to which, if not both, of these communication passes are performed on a given sol.

On Sol 2852 (Feb. 1, 2012), the Mössbauer Spectrometer was placed on Amboy for a multi-sol integration and subsequently 24 hours of integration has occurred. Also, there were three radio Doppler tracking passes during this time on Sols 2853, 2855, and 2856 (Feb. 2, 4 and 5). And finally, on Sol 2858 (Feb. 7, 2012), the robotic arm continued its extended Microscopic Imager mosaic campaign of the surface area that includes the target Amboy.

As of Sol 2859 (Feb. 8, 2012), solar array energy production was 283 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.648 and a solar array dust factor of 0.478.

Total odometry is unchanged at 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

sols 2846-2852, January 25 - February 01, 2012: Radio Doppler Tracking Continues at Cape York

Opportunity is positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater with an approximate 15-degree northerly tilt for favorable solar energy production.

While positioned for the winter, Opportunity is conducting regular radio Doppler tracking measurements to support geo-dynamic investigations of the planet, in-situ (contact) science investigations of the rock target, "Amboy," including an extended Microscopic Imager mosaic, and continued collection of the 13-filter 360-degree "Greeley" panorama.

Additionally, during the late afternoon radio Doppler tracking passes, the rover is collecting spectacular low-light (low sun elevation) images. Decreasing energy levels with the approach to the winter solstice has constrained conducting both a radio Doppler tracking pass and an afternoon Ultra High Frequency relay pass on the same sol. The operations team performs energy trades on the tactical timeline as to which, if not both, of these communication passes are performed on a given sol. On Sol 2846 (Jan. 25, 2012), a low-light Panoramic Camera (Pancam) image was collected during the late afternoon radio Doppler tracking pass. On the next sol, the robotic arm was used to re-place the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer on the target Amboy for multi-sol integration. More radio Doppler tracking passes with Pancam low-light imagery were performed over the next sols.

On Sol 2852 (Feb. 1, 2012), the robotic arm collected a Microscopic Imager mosaic, part of an extended mosaic campaign, of the surface area that includes the target Amboy. The Mössbauer spectrometer was then placed on Amboy for a multi-sol integration. New parameters are being used to optimize the Moessbauer spectrometer performance.

As of Sol 2852 (Feb. 1, 2012), solar array energy production was 270 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.679 and a solar array dust factor of 0.469.

Total odometry is unchanged at 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

sols 2839-2845, January 18-24, 2012: Science Investigations Continue as Solar Energy Levels Drop

Opportunity is positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater with an approximate 15-degree northerly tilt for favorable solar energy production during the winter.

Opportunity is conducting regular radio Doppler tracking measurements to support geo-dynamic investigations of the planet, in-situ (contact) science investigations of the target, "Amboy" including an extended Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic, and continued collection of the 13-filter, 360-degree "Greeley" panorama.

Decreasing energy levels with the approach to the winter solstice has constrained Opportunity for conducting both a radio Doppler tracking pass and an afternoon Ultra High Frequency (UHF) relay pass on the same sol. The operations team performs energy trades on the tactical timeline as to which, if not both, of these communication passes are performed on a given sol. On Sol 2839 (Jan. 18, 2012), the first portion of the extended Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic was collected, followed by the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The next sol supported continued temperature diagnostics for the Mössbauer (MB) spectrometer and conducted a radio Doppler tracking pass. On Sol 2841 (Jan. 20, 2012), the APXS was retracted and rotated to perform a periodic atmospheric argon measurement. On Sol 2844 (Jan. 23, 2012), the robotic arm was repositioned to collect a set of Microscopic Imager sky-flat calibration images and another radio Doppler tracking pass was performed.

As of Sol 2845 (Jan. 24, 2012), solar array energy production was 279 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.693 and a solar array dust factor of 0.473.

Total odometry is unchanged at 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

sols 2833-2838, January 12-17, 2012: Adjusting Robotic Arm on 'Amboy' Rock

Opportunity is positioned on the north end of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater with an approximate 15-degree northerly tilt for favorable solar energy production.

Opportunity is conducting regular radio Doppler tracking measurements, in-situ (contact) science investigations of the target, "Amboy" and continues to collect the 13-filter, 360-degree "Greeley" panorama.

On Sol 2833 (Jan. 12, 2012), the robotic arm performed a tool change to place the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) on a repositioned Amboy target. With multi-sol APXS integration ongoing, several opportunities were used to perform Mössbauer spectrometer temperature diagnostics. The diagnostic tests help to establish the best temperature range of operation for the Mössbauer, which exhibits some temperature-related anomalous behavior. In addition to the continued radio Doppler tracking, panorama collection and in-situ science, in the plan ahead regular Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaics will be collected of an extended area around the in-situ targets.

As of Sol 2838 (Jan. 17, 2012), solar array energy production was 276 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.602 and a solar array dust factor of 0.447.

Total odometry is 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

sols 2825-2832, January 04-11, 2012: Studying Rock Target 'Amboy'

Opportunity is positioned for winter on the north end of "Cape York" on the rim of Endeavour Crater.

The rover is tilted about 15 degrees to the north for favorable solar energy production. Opportunity is conducting in-situ (contact) science investigations of the rock target, "Amboy." The Mössbauer spectrometer has been in place for several sols on Amboy. On Sol 2829 (Jan. 8, 2012), the Microscopic Imager was used to make additional surveys of the target with the Mössbauer being placed again on the same point. After some image assessments, the robotic arm was used on Sol 2831 (Jan. 10, 2012), to slightly reposition the Mössbauer.

Ongoing with the long Mössbauer integrations, Opportunity has been conducting regular radio Doppler X-band tracking passes in support of an experiment to measure the precession and nutation of the planet. Opportunity has also been collecting color Panoramic Camera (Pancam) images of the full 360-degree "Greeley" panorama from this site. The plan ahead is more Mössbauer, more Pancam and more radio Doppler tracking.

As of Sol 2832 (Jan. 11, 2012), solar array energy production was 281 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.697 and a solar array dust factor of 0.471.

Total odometry is 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).

sols 2818-2824, December 28, 2011 - January 03, 2012: Positioned at Candidate Site for Winter

Opportunity is positioned for winter on the north end of "Cape York" on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is tilted about 15 degrees to the north for favorable solar energy production. Opportunity is in position to conduct contact science investigations of surface targets reachable by the instruments on the robotic arm.

On Sol 2819 (Dec. 29, 2011), the robotic arm was used to collect a set of Microscopic Imager mosaics of a target called "Amboy." This was followed by the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 2822 (Jan. 1, 2012), the rover's robotic arm placed the Mössbauer Spectrometer on the target Amboy for an extended integration.

Sol 2822 also saw the first of a planned series of special X-band passes to support a radio Doppler tracking experiment to measure the precession and nutation of the planet. Those first data have been assessed as good quality. The plan ahead is for continued Mössbauer integration on Amboy and more radio Doppler tracking.

As of Sol 2824 (Jan. 3, 2012), solar array energy production was 287 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.735 and a solar array dust factor of 0.481. Total odometry as of Sol 2823 (Jan. 2, 2012) is 21.35 miles (34,361.37 meters).