Sols 964-965: Logan’s Run? Or just a short dash…

Although we had planned a drive of up to 48 m towards “Logan’s Run” on Sol 963, the drive ended early after only 17 m due to the detection of a nearby hazard (a large rock).   This was the first time in a while that we were using autonav for driving.  The good news is that the hazard was detected, and the events are understood.   It just means that we have a little further to go before we can start calling this a run…

Today’s plan includes ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the large rock, now named “Blackrock.”  Then we’ll continue driving towards the west.  The plan also includes post-drive imaging for targeting, and some ChemCam atmospheric observations.  I was supposed to be the Geology Science Theme Lead tomorrow, but we’re entering restricted sols (meaning that the data from today’s drive won’t be down in time for planning tomorrow), so we decided to plan two sols today, and will not do any planning tomorrow.   Let’s hope this next run goes more smoothly!

By Lauren Edgar

--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.

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.