Exploring Mars: An Inside Look at the Daily Activities on Sol 1339 and 1340

Today, we pause briefly to savor some cake before continuing with our mission on Sol 1339 and 1340. Our focus is on planning the next two days of activities, which include carrying on with our drill campaign at the target “Okoruso”.

On Sol 1339, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) will observe a pile of drill tailings that were dumped without being sieved. The Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument will complete the analysis from the previous sol’s plan, and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will make an overnight measurement of the dump pile.

Moving on to Sol 1340, we have a targeted science block that includes ChemCam passive and active observations of the dump pile. Active observations will also be made on the targets “Kobos 2”, “Stampriet”, and “Swartmodder”. The Mast Camera (Mastcam) will document these targets, and both Mastcam and Navigation Camera (Navcam) will conduct atmospheric dust observations.