Happy 3rd Mars year, Opportunity rover!

[n2doc]

Mars Exploration Rovers Update:
Embedded Spirit Waits Exit Approval, Opportunity Celebrates New Mars Year with New Record
By A.J.S. Rayl
September 30, 2009

From notable achievements and new discoveries to trials and tribulations and harbingers of hope, the Mars Exploration Rovers seemed to experience the gamut on the Red Planet this September, their 69th month on an expedition that originally set out back in 2004 for a three-month tour.

While Opportunity seemed to effortlessly sail through the month, celebrating its third Mars year, checking out the largest meteorite found on the mission so far, and setting a new rove record, Spirit, still embedded in what turns out to be the edge of sand-filled crater west of Home Plate, suffered a communications setback and was forced to temporarily scale back operations just as the team settled on an exit strategy.

As the month began, Opportunity was wrapping up its six-week meteoric study at Meridiani Planum by driving around the watermelon-sized, iron-nickel rock dubbed Block Island and taking pictures for a 3-D model of the heavyweight Martian invader. Then, the rover hit the road, continuing its long journey to Endeavour Crater. It's following the latest route charted a couple of months back to avoid a potentially troublesome field of large sand ripples or purgatoids, as they are not so-affectionately known. Pictures from the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) give the MER team the luxury of seeing what lies ahead and they have come to rely now on those pictures from on high to guide the rovers' explorations.

It will forever be a September to remember for Opportunity since it completed its third Mars year on the 16th and caught up with Spirit in the record books. It then raced into its new year establishing a new all-time rove record during a 59-meter (194-foot) run on September 23 that pushed its odometer to 17,717.33 meters or 11.01 miles. It would be easy to gloss over that achievement, but the rovers were only "warrantied" to put 500 meters (.3 mile) on their rocker bogies or 1 kilometer (.6 mile) between them. So, 11 miles is a huge accomplishment worthy of special note. It’s still got miles to go before it sleeps, to adapt the words of poet Robert Frost, at least 14 more miles before it can pull up and rest at Endeavour. Daunting as that may be, Opportunity is roving up to the plate and this month brought newfound reason to believe it can meet the challenge.

more:

http://planetary.org/news/2009/0930_Mars_Exploration_Rovers_Update.html

[Subdivisions]

1. The most intrepid explorers in the known universe. n/t

[tridim]

2. Best Robots EVER!

I don't mean that as a joke. The engineers should be extremely proud of their accomplishment.

[byronius]

3. Great post.

[Rick Myers]

4. A great achievement!!!

Congrats to the entire team!!!

[ki83760]

5. Congrats