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Mars has passed through solar conjunction ,
and reliable communication with the spacecraft at Mars is possible
again. As planning started this morning, we were still waiting for
more data to be relayed by the orbiters to confirm that MSL is ready to
resume science planning, but proceeded with
tactical planning so that we would be ready when the data arrived. The
Sol 1027 plan starts with Mastcam observations of several targets that
were imaged just before solar conjunction, to look for changes caused by
winds or maybe Marsquakes. Mastcam will
then look at the sun to measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere,
Navcam will search for dust devils, and ChemCam/Mastcam will observe
nearby targets "Piegan" and "Wallace." On Sol 1028, the arm will be
used to take MAHLI images of the rocks and soil
in front of the rover from various vantage points, to measure changes
in their reflectance with observation geometry ("photometry"). After
dusk, APXS and MAHLI will measure 3 spots on a rock called "Big Arm"
that was imaged by MAHLI during the day before
solar conjunction. The nighttime images, using MAHLI's LEDs for
illumination, should nicely complement the daytime images of the rock.
Finishing off the weekend plan, on Sol 1029 ChemCam will acquire some
calibration data and Mastcam will take a stereo mosaic
of the outcrops to the east of the rover.
As SOWG Chair today, I was a bit worried about
planning so many activities on the first day of tactical planning in a
few weeks, but the team hit the ground running and did a great job.
Early this afternoon, we got word from the downlink
team that the data acquired during conjunction show that the rover is
in good health, and that we were therefore "go" for planning. MSL is
back in action! 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