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The difficult 35-meter drive planned for Sol 817 went perfectly, placing
the rover in position for arm activities on the Alexander Hills
outcrop. We also received good news from ChemCam: test images acquired
on Sol 816 showed that the
instrument can still acquire data without using the autofocus laser .
More ChemCam tests were planned today. Sol 819 planning started 3
hours later than usual, giving me extra time to prepare for my
MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead shift this morning. We had lots of interesting
rocks to choose from,
and decided to brush a target dubbed "Mescal." After taking MAHLI
images, the APXS will be placed on the same target for a long overnight
integration to measure its elemental chemistry. We also planned MAHLI
images of targets "Puente" and "Cajon," as well
as Mastcam mosaics including these and other targets of interest. 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