On Sol 2474, the rover will investigate the differences in rock formations at Sandside Harbour. The day’s plan includes Mastcam multispectral observations of the lighter and darker sections of the outcrop, as well as a fin of bedrock at Joppa Shore. The Mastcam will also document nearby stratigraphy at North Minch and an interesting green rock called Halkirk. ChemCam will analyze the chemistry of Blackstones Bank and Essendy to compare the darker and lighter portions of the outcrop. A large Mastcam mosaic of Sandside Harbour is also planned.
The focus of the mission is to use DRT, MAHLI, and APXS instruments to characterize the darker outcrop for comparison with previous measurements of the lighter portion. East Shetland and Essendy are the primary targets for today’s activities. On Sol 2500, Navcam will monitor atmospheric conditions with a suprahorizon movie and dust devil survey. Afterward, the rover will drive west to another outcrop for post-drive images in preparation for contact science activities on Sol 2501.
On Sol 2501, environmental monitoring activities will be carried out by the rover early on its wake-up time. The planning day was led by SOWG, but only two sols were covered instead of three due to a soliday on Saturday. This soliday marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing, celebrating early explorers’ contributions to space exploration that paved way for today’s exciting discoveries on other planets.