Sols 1625-1626: Change detection and additional remote sensing

1 March 2017

We’re still at the second stop of the Bagnold Dune campaign, running a few more MAHLI diagnostics and focusing on targeted remote sensing. I was the GSTL today and it was still a pretty busy day for the GEO theme group. The first sol includes a ChemCam observation of a ripple crest (similar to the observation from Sol 1621 shown in the above Mastcam image) and a long distance RMI to look for changes on the slope of Mt. Sharp. We’ll also use Navcam to search for dust devils, and Mastcam will survey the color and opacity of the atmosphere. The second sol includes ChemCam observations of “Allagash” and “Hersey” to investigate some bedrock with interesting color variations. Mastcam and Navcam will also be used to monitor the atmosphere and search for dust devils. In the afternoon of both sols, APXS will continue to collect data for thermal characterization. Throughout the plan, we’ll repeat several Mastcam and MARDI images to monitor changes in sand movement. These change detection observations have produced a great dataset that shows some awesome ripple activity.

By Lauren Edgar

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