Sol 2067, May 30, 2018, update by MSL scientist Claire Newman: The previous plan included some tests of the sample delivery system, including delivery of a single portion to the closed cover of the SAM inlet. The imaging showed a small amount made it, but not as much as we’d hoped. So the team decided to postpone CheMin sample delivery until tomorrow’s plan, leaving us even more time for science activities in today’s single sol plan for Sol 2067.
The environmental theme group seized the opportunity to take a long ‘dust devil search’ movie pointed roughly to the northwest, where we currently have a beautiful view back down the slope of Aeolis Mons toward the Bagnold Dunes, and all the way across Gale Crater’s floor to the northwest rim (as shown in this Navcam image from Sol 2060). We’ve just moved past southern spring equinox, which means we’re now in the half of the Mars year when global dust storms are observed to begin. However, the increased… [More at link]