Sol 1748: Bumping to a sand ripple
6 July 2017
Another touch-and-go was strategically planned for today, and there is
bedrock in the arm workspace, so the tactical science team selected a
block named "Tupper Ledge" for contact science.
After APXS measures the elemental chemistry of Tupper Ledge and MAHLI
takes a full suite of images of the same target, the arm will be stowed
to allow ChemCam and Right Mastcam observations of a soil target called
"No Mans Land" and a bedrock target dubbed
"Sugar Loaves." Navcam will search for clouds above the horizon and
the Right Mastcam will snap a couple pictures of "Harris," a trough in
the dark sand.
Today's drive goal is to place the crest of a sand ripple in the arm
workspace, to allow contact science on the ripple this weekend. A wheel
scuff of the ripple was added by the Rover Planners, which should allow
the interior of the ripple to be observed.
After the drive and standard post-drive imaging, Navcam will search for
clouds overhead and DAN will make another active measurement of
hydrogen in the near-subsurface. Once again, the tactical team did a
great job, so it was an easy day for me as 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.
