Sol 768-770 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Preparing SAM

The tactical team took a day off Thursday to make the transition from restricted (every other day) to nominal (daily) planning.  That meant that, to complete all of the planning for the weekend in time to send the commands to the rover by the start of Sol 768 (at 7 PM PDT), planning had to start 1.5 hours earlier than usual (at 6:30 AM PDT).  It's good that we started early, because the weekend plan is full:  After SAM preconditioning during the day, MAHLI will image the "Confidence Hills" drill hole after sunset on Sol 768 using its LEDs to illuminate the hole and tailings.  SAM activities typically require lots of power and are best done during the night, so the rover will recharge during the day on Sol 769 before performing a 10-hour overnight SAM evolved gas analysis without sample.  This analysis will provide a good baseline for the upcoming SAM measurements of the drill sample, currently planned to begin on Sol 771.  In preparation for those measurements, SAM will perform another preconditioning late on Sol 770, after the rover recharges during the day. 

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.