10 February 2017
Sol 1604-1605: Toward Ireson Hill
Posted by Ryan Anderson
On Sol 1604 we wrapped up at the first stop of this second phase of the Bagnold Dune campaign. The plan started off, as usual for the dune campaign, with a pair of Mastcam images that were then repeated throughout the day to look for changes. ChemCam had an RMI of the target “Mapleton” and then Mastcam had a whole series of images of nearby sand formations. Once that was taken care of, we decided to drive back toward Ireson Hill so that we can take a closer look at some of the geology there. The drive was about 55 meters, followed by post-drive imaging.
In the 1605 plan, ChemCam’s laser is back in action with an analysis of the target “Carys Mills.” Mastcam will take a supporting image of the same target, as well as a small mosaic of the target “Calderwood.” We will then continue driving around the east side of Ireson hill toward our targets of interest, ending at a rock that may be part of the hill’s capping layer.
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