MISSION UPDATES | May 3, 2018

Sol 2040: Go West, Young Rover

Written by Ryan Anderson, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Sol 2040: Go West, Young Rover

Our drive from Sol 2039 was successful, and the plan for sol 2040 is to continue driving to the west. Before we do that, ChemCam will analyze the bedrock target "Prairie Lake" and the loose rock "Gowan". Mastcam will take a single image to document both targets, as well as an image of the autonomously-selected target observed after the sol 2039 drive. Mastcam also has a 9-frame mosaic of an interesting crack in the soil near the rover. The targeted science block will wrap up with a Navcam movie to watch for clouds over Mt. Sharp.

After the drive, in addition to our normal post-drive imaging, Mastcam will observe the sun and the crater rim to measure the amount of dust in the atmosphere. ChemCam will do another autonomously-selected observation and we'll wrap up the day with a MARDI image of the ground under our wheels.