Sol 598 - 600 Update On Curiosity From USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Preconditioning

It was a busy day for the tactical uplink team, planning 3 sols to get MSL through the weekend. I was MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead, and focused on MAHLI imaging of the ChemCam window to determine how much dust is on it. We've taken such an image before when the window was in shadow, and wanted to try again with the window illuminated. We also planned MAHLI images of hardware on the remote sensing mast, to see if there are any signs of cable/fiber wear. Lots of ChemCam and Mastcam targeted observations are planned for Sol 598, followed by APXS and MAHLI observations on the outcrop in front of the rover. Then the rover will drive about 9 meters toward better outcrops, to get into position for more contact science next week. Finally SAM preconditioning and other activities are planned overnight to prepare for the next sample analysis.