Sol 1671, April 17, 2017, update by ChemCam Principal Investigator Roger Wiens: Today I covered the ChemCam Payload Element Lead (PEL) role for this first Monday after Easter. Normally the ChemCam team starts Mondays with a telephone tag-up as we hand over operations between the French and US portions of the team. We alternate doing ChemCam operations from week to week…
Meanwhile, back on Mars, Curiosity nailed the 34 meter drive to another rock exposure identified in orbital images. Ever since we observed possible mud cracks at Old Soaker the rover team has been pursuing the idea that Curiosity is exploring strata that represent occasional dry-lake periods. As the rover drives further from the dunes, it is nice to be seeing more and more interesting rocks out the front window. The main activities in the plan that we’re sending up to the rover today include a 9×7 Mastcam mosaic of the rock outcrop “Jellison Cove”, MAHLI, APXS, and ChemCam on “Deer Isle”, and a second ChemCam analysis of “Calf Island”. [More at link]