15 June 2016
Sols 1373-1374: No touch, just go!
Posted by Ryan Anderson
The 32-meter Sol 1371 drive completed exactly as planned, giving the rover a good view of the path toward the south. So another ~30-meter drive is planned for Sol 1373, after some remote science observations. We had the option of using the DRT and taking MAHLI images of the brush spot before the drive, but the science team decided to acquire more remote science observations rather than brushing the Stimson Formation bedrock reachable by the arm. Mastcam will image the path ahead through all spectral filters, then ChemCam and the Right Mastcam will observe Stimson bedrock targets “Sesfontein” and “Swartbooisdrif.” The Right Mastcam will image the ChemCam target that was autonomously selected by the AEGIS software on Sol 1371, and a Left Mastcam mosaic of a fracture zone west of the rover is planned. On Sol 1374, AEGIS will be used to autonomously acquire another ChemCam observation and the Left Mastcam will take a 3×2 mosaic of the same area.
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.
