The Oudam drill campaign continues to go well, with sampleacquired and ready for analysis.
The Oudam drill campaign continues to go well, with sample
acquired and ready for analysis. Planning is now restricted, so we are
planning 2 sols today. On Sol 1364, ChemCam will acquire passive
spectra of the drill tailings and a LIBS raster of the wall of the drill
hole.
Later that afternoon, the unsieved portion of the drill sample will be
dumped on the ground and imaged by MAHLI from 25 cm to support future
planning. After dark, MAHLI will take pictures of the inside of the
drill hole, the tailings, and the CheMin inlet using its LEDs for
illumination. The APXS will then be placed on the drill tailings for an
overnight integration.
Early on Sol 1365, the Right
Mastcam will extend the mosaic of Hartmann's Valley, adding 22 images.
That afternoon, the APXS will be retracted and vibrated to clean it,
then the arm will be moved out of the way for ChemCam and Mastcam
observations of the drill tailings. Navcam will search for clouds both
near the horizon and at zenith. Finally, CheMin will analyze the drill
sample overnight.
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
