Sol 91 Update on Curiosity from USGS Scientist Ken Herkenhoff: Dry Run

6 November 2012

I made it home to Flagstaff last night despite being detoured by a fire that closed I-15 near Cajon Pass. I verified that the web tools and phone access to the MSL tactical planning meetings worked well, and followed the SOWG meeting planning Sol 91. The tools are similar to those we have been using for the Opportunity rover, so it was easy for me to get connected. So while it would be nice to still be working operations at JPL, it's good to be home and I'm confident that remote operations will work well. I'm not staffed in a tactical shift until Friday, so was not fully engaged in planning today. But it's clear that all is going well. The focus is on preparing SAM for delivery of its first solid sample, which involved a "dry run" that went well and preconditioning on Sol 91. Most SAM activities require a lot of power, as expected, so there wasn't much room for other science. But the science team squeezed in some ChemCam and Navcam observations, along with the normal background REMS, DAN and RAD measurements.