Sol 1645: Searching for dust devils
22 March 2017The APXS will still be deployed on The Hop
early on Sol 1645, and to avoid using battery power to heat up the arm,
we'll wait until early afternoon to move it out of the way. So we had
to pick ChemCam and Right Mastcam targets that would not be obscured by
the arm: A bright vein named "Snows Point" and a knobby-looking rock
dubbed "Clam Ledge." Navcam will then search for clouds and dust devils
before the APXS is retracted from The Hop and more drill diagnostic
tests performed. The Navcam
surveys are part of an ongoing Environmental Science Theme Group (ENV)
campaign to meticulously
search for dust devil activity in Gale Crater. It is important to
maintain a regular cadence, because as the location of the rover and
thus surface topography changes, the size and number of dust devils can
change.
In concert with the imaging, simultaneous REMS measurements can detect
pressure drops if vortices travel over or near the rover. This set of
observations is needed to constrain model simulations and is an
excellent example of two different instruments working together to
improve our understanding of the meteorology of Gale Crater and dust
lifting processes on Mars as MSL traverses up Mount Sharp. ENV also
plans to repeat the Mastcam optical depth measurement and Navcam cloud
movies that will be taken early in the morning of Sol 1645, to check for
diurnal variability. A Mastcam
afternoon sky survey is also planned, to characterize dust in the
atmosphere. Today's drive will be followed by the post-drive imaging
needed to plan contact science and another drive this weekend.
by Michael Battalio (ENV Science Theme Lead) and Ken Herkenhoff (SOWG Chair)
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.