The Sol 981 drive got the rover around the troublesome ripples and to the desired location, which gave us a good view of the terrain ahead.
The Sol 981 drive got the rover around the troublesome ripples and to the desired location, which gave us a good view of the terrain ahead. Unfortunately, the images taken from the new location show more sandy ripples between the rover and the sharp transition between bright and dark rocks that we would would like to examine close up.
So the plan for Sol 983
is to go around the ripples to the right and search for a safe path
ahead. But first, ChemCam will test its new focusing software, using
the RMI to find the best focus position for LIBS
analyses of the onboard calibration targets. The biggest challenge for
me as SOWG Chair today was prioritizing data for downlink, as the data
volume expected via MRO is much less than usual. We will probably
receive the images most urgently needed to plan
the next drive, but not the results of the ChemCam software tests.
This will delay the return of ChemCam to "normal" operations. But the near-term focus will likely be on driving, so
there will be few opportunities for ChemCam observations
anyway. 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
