Exciting Discoveries on Sol 1966: Brushing and Investigating a Potential Drill Target on Mars

As the SOWG Chair, I had to consider several options for activities on Sol 1966. Early in our planning process, we made the decision not to move the rover. Instead, our top priority was to brush and investigate a potential drill target just to the right of the Newmachar brush spot. Although we won’t be finalizing the drill target today, the area to be brushed is likely to include it.

To ensure that we collect all necessary data, MAHLI will take images from 25 and 5 cm above the surface after ChemCam measures the elemental composition at 9 points in a 3×3 raster. Before MAHLI and APXS examine it later in the day, ChemCam will shoot its laser at another contact science target named “Forties” to clean some of the dust off the surface.

After these activities are completed, MAHLI will acquire a full suite of images of the brushed spot before APXS is placed on it for an overnight integration. Today’s activities are varied and require careful planning to ensure that we collect all necessary data for our investigations into this promising drill target.