Soft, maybe too soft sands... (1) - Sol 835

Opportunity is less than 1 Km (just over half a mile) from Victoria Crater. During the last planned drive on Sol 833, the Rover became embedded in a soft dune. As designed, the drive was stopped by a slip check.
The extraction process began on Sol 836, with 5 mt (about 16 feet) of commanded motion, and 9 cm (about 3,5") of actual forward progress. The results are encouraging, and extraction will continue on Friday (such as June 2, 2006) and over the weekend if necessary. Opportunity is otherwise healthy and continues to conduct atmospheric and targeted remote sensing on the path South.