The Sol 1352 post-drive imaging shows that, while there are sandy ripples ahead ,
there are enough rocky patches that the rover should not have any problem
driving toward the southwest. This is what we were hoping, so we are
planning to drive in that direction on Sol 1353. But first, Mastcam
will acquire stereo mosaics of the Murray-Stimson contact and a couple
areas toward the west with nodular features . After the drive, ChemCam will again autonomously measure the chemistry of a target selected by the AEGIS software.
To
get a head start on planning for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, two
sols are being planned today. We expect to receive the Sol 1352 data
needed for planning the rest of the weekend tomorrow
morning. The Sol 1353 activities cannot be precisely targeted, so
Navcam will look for clouds and Mastcam will measure the amount of dust
in the atmosphere at various times that sol. In addition, ChemCam will
perform a routine calibration activity. Once again it was an easy day
for me as MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead, with only the usual MARDI twilight
image to plan.
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
