Sols 1344-1345: Brief Contact

The drive planned for last weekend was successful in moving the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover less than 6 meters into position for contact science on rocks that had been broken by the rover’s wheels. Due to restrictions on planning activities this week, two sols’ worth of activities are being planned in advance.

The first sol (1344) will include a “touch and go” operation that requires additional Rover Planner staffing, as both arm activities and a drive are scheduled. Despite the challenges of fitting a lot into one plan for Sol 1344, it was necessary to ensure the drive is completed before the afternoon Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) communications relay in order to plan another drive on Wednesday.

Decisions had to be made about which scientific observations were most important to include in the plan. A ChemCam observation target named “Impalila” was selected for study, along with multispectral imaging of the broken rocks by Mastcam. After MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) takes pictures of several targets, including “Stampriet,” “Narubis,” and “Swartmodder,” the rover will drive westward, aiming to return to its Sol 1311 location before the decision was made to return to the Lubango area.

The observations planned for Sol 1345 cannot be specifically targeted due to being taken after the drive. As a result, ChemCam and Mastcam will conduct routine sky measurements. As mentioned by Ken Herkenhoff, the dates of planned rover activities described in these reports are subject to change based on various factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays, and rover status.