Opportunity Update
21 Mar 2004
(Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/daily/3-21-04.cfm
Opportunity Status for sol 56
Try Again to Exit Crater
posted Mar. 21, 5 pm PST
NASA's Opportunity tried driving uphill out of its landing-site crater during its 56th sol, ending at 10:05 p.m. March 21, PST, but slippage prevented success. The rover is healthy, and it later completed a turn to the right and a short drive along the crater's inner slope. Controllers plan to send it on a different route for exiting the crater on sol 57.
Earlier on sol 56, Opportunity successfully examined a patch of soil dubbed "Brian's Choice" with its Moessbauer spectrometer, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and microscopic imager. Following the drive, it made observations with its navigation camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Wake-up music for the sol was "Fly Like an Eagle," by the Steve Miller Band.