Sol 22 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Late Data

After a day off, I'm back on shift as SOWG Chair for 3 days. We had a scare this morning when the Sol 21 data we expected to receive through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was not received on time. Just as we were starting to put together contingency plans for Sol 22, most of the data were received from MRO (1.5 hours late). Happily, the Sol 21 drive (4.9 m) to place the rover over one of the areas scoured clean by the descent engines went perfectly, and the images taken after the drive allowed us to plan another drive today. It was encouraging that the team was able to recover from the 1.5-hour delay, allowing planning to proceed as normal. Overall, the tactical team has gotten much better at putting together complex plans, so we are able to include more and more activities each day.

Ken