11 January 2017

MSL drove almost 30 meters on Sol 1576, stopping in a location with a nice exposure of bedrock in the arm workspace. MAHLI's optics look clean, so we planned a full suite of MAHLI images and a short APXS integration on a bedrock target named "Mansell Mountain." Fitting the remote sensing observations we wanted, along with the contact science and a ~46-meter drive, into the Sol 1577 plan was a challenge. But the tactical team did a great job, working together to put together an excellent plan. After the contact science is completed, ChemCam and Right Mastcam will observe an odd cobble called "Ames Knob" and a bedrock target dubbed "Day Mountain." Left Mastcam will acquire a 2-image mosaic of the bedrock slab in front of the rover, and Right Mastcam will take an image of the Sol 1576 AEGIS target and a 4x1 mosaic of a layered exposure named "Appleton Ridge." After the drive and the post-drive imaging needed to plan Sol 1578 activities, Navcam will acquire a panorama and search for dust devils and clouds. It's been a busy day for me as SOWG Chair!