Today we are planning Sol 685, which includes a short pre-drive science block, 2.5 hours of driving, and some post-drive imaging for targeting. The pre-drive science block contains some environmental monitoring including ChemCam passive spectroscopy of atmospheric composition and a Mastcam measurement of atmospheric dust opacity. Since we are still driving through a lot of loose sand, we expect that the drive will cover a distance of ~60 m. Once we get through this area of ripples we’ll drive up onto the Zabriskie Plateau, named after a sandstone near Shoshone, California. Tomorrow will be another restricted sol as we wait for data to come down, and then we’re looking forward to possible contact science and more driving over the weekend!
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.
Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
