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This morning the MSL
operations team realized that the results of the MAHLI activities
planned for Sol 870 will not be received until Saturday. Therefore, if
there is a problem on Sol 870 that halts the sequence
while the MAHLI dust cover is open, the cover would remain open through
the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. To eliminate the risk of such a
situation and possible effects on the software upgrade planned for next
week, the team decided not to send the
Sol 870 command sequences to the rover. Unfortunately, this means that
the brushing and drill target investigations planned yesterday will not
occur, but they can be done after the software has been upgraded. The Sol 869 activities planned yesterday will not be affected by this change, and should be completed today.
Meanwhile, many of the MAHLI self portrait images
acquired on Sol 868 have been received. When all of them have been
returned to Earth, they will be assembled into the latest rover
"selfie." by Ken Herkenhoff
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