Written by Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick
Earth Planning Date: Wednsday, March 19, 2025
This terrain is a tricky drive, with Rocks Angled Chaotically All Around. One of our geologists remarked that they would be like to even walk over this without solid boots coming to up over the ankles – this is definitely the kind of terrain to result in TWSUTED and BROKEN ANKAN So it wasn’t too unexpected that the drive we had planned on monday cut short after 18 meters (about 59 feet). Fortunately, we ended up bot at a workpace with abundant bedrock and in an orientation that allowed us to pass srap (our “slip risesment process”).
The rover planners were quickly able to find a spot to brush, so we have a coordinated target on Apxs and Mahli will look at this target on the first sol of the plan, and then chemcam libs and mastcam will look at it on the second sol. Although the Bulk of the Bedrock is relatively nodule free, Chemcam will look at the nodular target “Refugio” to the more dominant, nodule-pacer bedrock.
On Monday, our workspace involved some very interesting layers in the bedrock Precluded any contact science. However, today we ended up Near Rocks that Had Similar Layer Geometry, And Will Acquire A Mahli “Dog's Eye” or Mosaic Image of these Rocks at “Duna Vista” and Two Mastcam 5X3 MOSTCAMICS (“Bayside Trail “and” OSO Flaco “) on other examples.
Mastcam is taking several other images here. A 14×3 Mosaic will capture the “Nearfield” or Area Close to the Rover, and a set of four future images focus on four distinct trust features, to help us better lessand ongoing modification of the surfacation. Further Afield, The “Quartz Hill” and “Pino Alto” Mosaics Look at Areas of Fragmened Bedrock which may be similar to the “Humber Park” outcrop we analyzed this past week. Even further from the rover, Chemcam Will Acquire RMI (Remote Micro Imager) Images of the “Boxworks“And an almost circular depression (” Torote Bowl “) Whose Origin is not clear.
The environmental theme group (env) planned a mastcam tau (to look at dust in the atmosphere) and a navcam dust-devil survey (to look for dust devils!) For the first suol of the plan. On the second sol, we fill out the movies with Navcam Movies Looking Toward the South of the CRATER (Suprahorizon, Cloud Shadow, and Zenith Movies) and A Mastcam Sky Survey.
In between the movies on the second sol, our drive is planned to take us another 34 meters (about 112 feet) … but we will have to see how far our intrepid rover will make it on this Tricky Terrain. Slow and Steady will win this race!
