OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: sol 34, Feb 28, 2004: Scratch and Sniff
Opportunity remains healthy and active. During its 34th sol on Mars, which ended at 5:34 a.m. Saturday, PST, the rover used its rock abrasion tool for the second time. It ground the surface off a patch of rock at a site called "Guadalupe" in the outcrop the rover has been examining. The rover looked at the patch with its microscope both before and after the grinding session. Then it placed its Moessbauer spectrometer against the newly exposed interior material of the rock for a long reading of data that scientists use to identify what iron-containing minerals are present in the target.
Opportunity also used its miniature thermal emission spectrometer during the sol to assess the composition of an outcrop feature dubbed "Shoemaker Wall." It took images of "Guadalupe" with its panoramic camera before and after the use of the rock abrasion tool.
Wake-up music played in the mission support area at JPL for sol 34 was "Dig In," by Lenny Kravitz.
For sol 35, ending at 6:15 a.m. Sunday, PST, plans call for continuing use of tools on the robotic arm to examine the rock interior exposed by the "Guadalupe" grind.