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September Mars Rover Report
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Hi, I'm Scott Maxwell, and this is your rover report.
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I'm the rover driver team lead for Spirit and Opportunity and I'm here today to fill you in on what our intrepid rovers have been up to lately.
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As of today, both rovers have been operating on Mars for more than 1,600 Martian days. Both rovers continue to operate and to do science from the Martian surface.
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Opportunity is moving up in the world; She's back up on higher ground after a safe exit from Victoria Crater. 
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Opportunity spent nearly a full Earth year exploring the inside of Victoria crater, in the process returning spectacular and unprecedented views into the Martian past.  
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But after seeing a one time spike on Opportunity's left-front wheel, the team decided it would be safest to wrap-up science operation inside the crater 
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and return to flat ground on the outside, as soon as possible.
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In order to accomplish this important goal, the team worked on "Mars time," setting our Earthbound work schedules to match the slightly longer Martian day.  
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Even though this meant working well past midnight, it was the way we could make the most progress in the shortest time.
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Despite the rapid pace set for exiting the crater, Opportunity found time for an activity most of us associate with lazy Sundays -- watching the clouds go by.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of Mars, at Gusev Crater, Spirit is riding out a very tough winter. 
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She's waiting for power levels to rise high enough that she can resume exploring actively.  
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In order to survive the winter she had to park on a north-facing slope at a very steep tilt to aim her solar panels more directly at the sun. 
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Now this image shows the extreme northerly tilt that Spirit had to achieve in order to safely survive this winter. 
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The team is keeping a very careful eye on the weather near Spirit's location, watching for any rise in atmospheric dust that might foretell a corresponding drop in her power levels. [00:01:48]
But so far, we haven't seen anything to worry about.
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Spirit made time recently to perform the interplanetary equivalent of synchronizing your watches.  
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She sent an electronic beep tone back to Earth at a specified time, and we watched for the arrival time of that signal in order to set our Earth clocks to match hers.  
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I'm Scott Maxwell, and this has been your rover report.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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