The weekend activities executed as planned, and the rover is in a good location to start a full campaign of wheel imaging.
The weekend activities executed as planned, and the rover is in a good location to start a full campaign of wheel imaging. Originally, a short drive or “bump” was planned for Sol 512 to get the rover in position for wheel imaging. Because this bump was not needed, more time was available for contact science. This meant the Science Theme Groups and I (as SOWG Chair) had a hectic morning, preparing for both contingencies as the rover planners evaluated the data to determine whether the bump was needed. We ended up adding an additional APXS/MAHLI target for contact science, including an overnight APXS integration on “Kodak.” Planning is unrestricted this week, and due to the timing of the uplink we had to start earlier than usual, at 6:00 Pacific time this morning.
Written by Ken Herkenhoff, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center