http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0810/09marsodyssey/
OK - yes - this is a Mars Odyssey story
BUT
This could have quite an impact on MER operations - there will be less time to do a days driving before having to stop for the MODY UHF relay pass on average. I wonder if this has been considered?
If the power situation is good on Opportunity - it is the time between uplink and downlink that is the limiting factor on driving, given CPU intensive stuff to do the advanced roving techniques.
I wonder if they can transition to MRO, which is typically an hour later, or even more MEX relays.
Full Version: Odyssey getting earlier
QUOTE (djellison @ Oct 10 2008, 04:33 PM) 
I wonder if they can transition to MRO, which is typically an hour later, or even more MEX relays.
There was mention of MRO in a recent Oppy update (below), so that is perhaps what they are planning to do.
QUOTE
On sol 1644 (Sept. 7, 2009), Opportunity relayed data at UHF frequencies to NASA's Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter (MRO). Typically, the rover sends data to NASA's Odyssey orbiter for transmission to Earth. Once a month, Opportunity is relaying data to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in preparation for using it more in the future.
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