5 June 2016
Sols 1361-1363: Drilling Oudam
Posted by Ryan Anderson
The MSL Rover Planners have all the data they need to drill (no “mini-drill” required), so the plan for this weekend focuses on drilling into the Oudam bedrock target. The full drill is scheduled for Sol 1361, followed by MAHLI and Mastcam images of the new hole. The rover will then rest until Sol 1362, when the drill sample will be transferred to the scoop for Mastcam imaging and sieved. A fine-grained (<0.15 mm) portion of the sample then will be dropped into CheMin for an overnight mineralogical analysis. After the CheMin data are read out of the instrument on Sol 1363, Mastcam will take a multispectral set of images of the drill tailings and a Right Mastcam mosaic of an outcrop southeast of the rover. In addition, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe a vein target named “Onganja” and a bedrock target dubbed “Ongeama,” and Navcam will search for dust devils. Another busy weekend for MSL!
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.
