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The 16-meter drive on Sol 1473 completed perfectly, placing the
rover in position for contact science on an outcrop of cross-bedded
Murray bedrock .
The primary goal for Sol 1474 is to characterize the cross-bedding and
measure grain sizes using MAHLI, and we were able to squeeze in a lot of
other good observations. Before the arm is deployed, ChemCam will
measure the chemical composition of the "Kopong" bedrock target, Mastcam
will acquire mosaics of the Kopong outcrop and a couple of blocks behind
it, and Navcam will search for clouds. The arm activities start with a
full suite of MAHLI images of Kopong and a MAHLI mosaic of the left side
of the outcrop, dubbed "Utuseb." Then the DRT will be used to brush
off the "Jwaneng" target, with MAHLI images taken before and after the
brushing. The APXS will be placed 0.5 centimeter from the center of the
brushed spot for a short evening integration, then moved to the center
of the brushed spot for an overnight integration. Finding good contact
science targets that could be safely brushed and imaged was a challenge,
but the tactical team did a great job, making it an easy day for me as
SOWG Chair.
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