15 June 2016


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.
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