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As expected, the Sol 748 drive put the rover in a good location to view the path toward Pahrump Hills . Planning is restricted this week, so Sols 751 and 752 were planned on Monday, and 2 more sols will be planned on Wednesday. This planning cadence has been used for years on the Mars Exploration Rovers, and will become the norm in the MSL extended mission. For Sol 751, we had the difficult choice of examining the rocks in front of us with the arm instruments or driving toward the Pahrump Hills outcrop. Because we expect to encounter the same rock unit on the other side of Pahrump Hills, we decided to drive. But first, Mastcam and ChemCam will examine nearby targets "Shinarump" and "Upheaval Dome," the latter named after an eroded impact structure in southeastern Utah. On Sol 752, ChemCam will shoot "blind" at the surface to the right of the rover, and Mastcam will acquire a 360-degree panorama.
Dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.
Written by Ken Herkenhoff, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center