Exploring Mars’ Hidden Secrets: A Journalist’s Look at Yesterday’s Geology Mission

Yesterday, I led the Geology team in our scheduled activities on Mars. We began with 1.5 hours of targeted remote science, followed by contact science. Our first target was “Winnipeg,” located in the Murray formation, which we will assess using MAHLI and APXS to determine its composition. Next, we will characterize the composition across the Murray-Stimson contact using “Alma.” We also planned to capture Mastcam mosaics to document the Murray-Stimson contact and study the local structure and stratification. Additionally, we obtained a Mastcam tau to evaluate atmospheric opacity. In the afternoon, we will acquire MAHLI images of the “Sacajawea” target to investigate another resistant ledge. Using the DRT, we will brush off dust from “Winnipeg” and take close MAHLI images to look for grain size variations. Finally, we will use APXS overnight to analyze the composition of the “Winnipeg” target.