MSL launched from Florida two years ago today--I was pretty nervous that day, but the mission has obviously gone extremely well! Planning is restricted this week (results of the drive planned for Sol 465 will not arrive until tonight), so we are planning 3 sols of untargeted remote sensing to get the rover through the Thanksgiving holiday. We crammed a lot of science into the 3-sol plan, including a SAM atmospheric measurement, another CheMin analysis of the drill sample, and several ChemCam and Mastcam observations of the sky and distant targets. We also took this opportunity to perform some instrument maintenance activities. So far, planning is going very smoothly!
Written by Ken Herkenhoff, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
