6 June 2016

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.
Posted in:
Curiosity, Field Work