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 by Mariah Baker, Planetary Geologist at Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 07, 2022
Tosol's plan included a little bit of everything, with more than four hours of remote science spread over three sols. However, the rover is still in the midst of the Avanavero drill campaign, so all desired observations had to be strategically fit in around important drill-related SAM and CheMin activities. Remote science observations also sometimes come with their own timing constraints, so it was the job of the team on shift to schedule all activities in an efficient way, and to ensure coordination between any activities that might influence one another. For example, while there was no contact science in this plan, Mastcam of the drill tailings will be used to assess wind conditions and mitigate risk to the MAHLI camera when it images the drill hole in a future plan. Mastcam images of the rover's wheel tracks (target "Kamana") and sand ripples (target "Karouni") will also be used to study wind activity. Mars is currently in the dusty season, so a significant portion of the plan was dedicated to studying environmental conditions during this dynamic time of year. The team worked together to find time to slot environmental activities around geologic observations, including a 26-minute-long ChemCam passive sky image. Additionally, the team scheduled a Navcam suprahorizon movie, a Navcam dust devil survey and dust devil movie, a Navcam "line of sight" image, and two Mastcam "tau" images to measure atmospheric dust levels. Remote science activities included three ChemCam LIBS observations on rock targets "Araca," "Isla Caou," and "Guarento," each of which was also accompanied by a Mastcam documentation image. A coordinated Mastcam multispectral observation of Isla Caou will be used for comparison against ChemCam data on the same target. The team also found time to include a large ChemCam RMI observation covering part of Gediz Vallis Ridge, rounding out a very full plan for the ChemCam instrument. When the team was informed that SAM and CheMin activities were placing tight constraints on the time and power available on the first two sols, some remote science activities had to be moved to the third sol where they fit better. This included observations that needed to be acquired at atypical times of sol for lighting reasons. A set of Mastcam images, including a multispectral of "Bolivar" and a mosaic of the Gediz Valles Ridge required morning illumination to avoid shadowing, and a set of photometry observations needed to be acquired late in the afternoon to provide comparison data with similar images collected at other times of sol. Tosol's rover planning was busy, but successful. The team worked together to fit as much high-quality science as possible within the allotted time and to collect data needed to support ongoing and future drill-related activities at this site.
Eyeing Kukenan - Sols 3519-3524 Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 01, 2022 Curiosity is continuing to proceed through our pre-planned checklist of activities that we've made for drill campaigns. The team is currently waiting for the downlink that contains data from CheMin's first analysis of the Avanavero drilled sample, and we will use these data to help us decide whether to analyze the sample with SAM as well. While we wait today, we planned a whopping six sols worth of activity that will cover the upcoming July 4th US holiday. The main activities in the plan included ... read more
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