14 March 2016

Sol 1282: Up on the Plateau

Posted by Ryan Anderson

I’m scheduled on tactical operations tomorrow, so I’m getting back up to speed on recent MSL activities today.  The Sol 1281 drive completed as planned, crossing the Murray/Stimson contact at the edge of the Naukluft plateau.  Now that we have a better view of the plateau, we are ready to start driving across it.  But first, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe targets “Orupembe” and “Witvlei” on the bedrock in front of the roverMastcam will also take pictures of the rocks in front of the rover and targets “Natab East” and “Natab West” on either side of the vehicle before the Sol 1282 drive.  After the drive, in addition to the usual post-drive imaging, the Left Mastcam will acquire a full 360-degree panorama, as the view from the new location (near the left edge of the image above) is expected to be good.  We are looking forward to seeing the new data!

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.