Sols 1123-1125: Drill hole and tailings

2 October 2015

The weekend plan includes lots of arm activities and science. First, on Sol 1123, ChemCam and Mastcam will observe the drill hole and tailings, plus targets named "Frontier," "Floweree," "Bozeman," and "Billings." Then the portion of the sample that has not been sieved will be dumped on the ground and examined by Mastcam. After dusk, MAHLI will use its LEDs to look inside of the drill hole and image the drill tailings and CheMin inlet, then APXS will be placed over the tailings for an overnight measurement. Late in the afternoon of Sol 1124, MAHLI will image the pre-sieve dump pile and APXS will be placed over it for another overnight integration.

A SAM atmospheric methane measurement was added early on Sol 1125 because Mars recently went through the path of comet Damocles. Dust ejected from comets is often carbon-rich, and therefore is a possible source of the elevated methane concentration that has occasionally been observed by SAM. After all those activities, the rover will sleep through most of Sol 1125 to recharge its batteries in preparation for Sol 1126.



by Ken Herkenhoff