Opportunity report by A.J.S. Rayl, The Planetary Society

October 4, 2014: Opportunity Gets Extension, Returns Killer Panoramas, and Roves onto Mystery Rocks. While the winds of Martian spring blew through Meridiani Planum in September, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity reformatted its Flash memory then continued exploring Wdowiak Ridge on the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Even though the Flash-related issues soon returned, the robot field geologist hardly seemed to notice as it sent home two spectacular panoramas, presented the scientists with a rocky Martian mystery, and delivered yet another September to remember for the mission. And that’s not all… The best news of the month broke right on September 4th when NASA announced that it is granting MER its ninth mission extension… “We have a healthy rover, good weather, the funding we need, and terrific science ahead of us,” Steve Squyres, MER principal investigator, of Cornell University, said during an interview at September’s end. “It’s continued good times for Opportunity.” [More at link]