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Sol 182 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Mini-Drill Test

The "mini-drill" test went well , so Sol 182 planning focused on the first full drilling activity. As MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead again, I concentrated on planning MAHLI images of the drill target, to be taken both before and after the drilling. A lot of effort had already gone into planning these images, so I spent most of my time helping to ensure that the planned durations of these imaging activities were correct and would fit into the available time. We also had to tweak the downlink priority of some of the images to ensure that the data needed to assess the results of the drilling will be received in time to plan the next sol.

Written by Ken Herkenhoff, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center