The short Sol 1250 drive completed successfully, placing the rover inposition for contact science on the bedrock outcrop of interest .
The short Sol 1250 drive completed successfully, placing the rover in
position for contact science on the bedrock outcrop of interest . We’re planning 2 sols today and 3 sols tomorrow
to get the rover through the upcoming holiday weekend. On Sol 1251,
ChemCam will observe a bright vein called “Fiskus” and the sieved sand
samples will be dumped onto the bedrock. Mastcam will take stereo
images of the dump piles, then MAHLI will image the dump piles and a
separate brush target named “Kuiseb.” After the DRT brushes Kuiseb, the
APXS will be placed on the brushed spot for an overnight integration.
SAM will also measure the composition of the atmosphere overnight.
The Sol 1252 plan starts with lots of remote sensing: A multispectral
Mastcam observation of Fiskus, ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam observations of
bumpy features “Vingerklip” and “Buntfeldschuh” on the bedrock, ChemCam
RMI mosaics of distant targets, and a Navcam search for clouds. Then
the APXS will be placed on its calibration target for an overnight integration. Whew–a busy planning day!
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