Sol 775-777 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Weekend Planning

The Sol 775 MAHLI activities were planned in advance, so it was an easy
day for me as uplink lead--I only had to make minor changes to the
plan. MAHLI will take another image of the drill hole from 25 cm above
it, similar to the image
acquired on Sol 759 ,
but later in the day when the sun will
illuminate the entire scene. Then MAHLI will take images of the 5
locations on "Morrison" that will be measured by the APXS. All of the
images will be taken late enough in the day that they should be fully
illuminated by the Sun. On Sol 776, ChemCam and
Mastcam will observe several targets at various distances from the
rover, then CheMin will analyze the drill sample again overnight. The
CheMin analysis requires a fair amount of power, so the rover will
recharge most of the following day. Finally, after
sunset on Sol 777, Mastcam, and ChemCam will observe the bright star
Vega to help refine plans to observe comet Siding Spring next weekend. 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