The command sequences prepared for Sol 68 were not received by MSL due to a problem with a radio transmitter at a Deep Space Network ground station. But enough data were received from earlier sols that we were confident that we could resume scooping on a new site, where contamination was not seen in close-up MAHLI images. So the Sol 69 plan includes some of the activities we intended to perform on Sol 68, plus scooping and documentation imaging of the new site. I was MAHLI/MARDI uplink lead, so was busy making sure that we planned the MAHLI images we need, working with the rover planners to optimize the plan.


About halfway into the Sol 69 planning process, we learned that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) went into "safe mode." MRO has been in safe mode several times during its mission, and has recovered every time, so we expect that the orbiter will recover quickly. But it reminds us how much MSL depends on the orbiters--we will not be able to use MRO for data relay for at least a couple days. While we can still receive MSL data through Mars Odyssey, the data volume is typically greater via MRO. And it is possible to receive data directly from MSL to Earth, but data volumes are even lower. So we hope that the MRO project will be able to understand and recover from this anomaly quickly.

The MAHLI image of the "schmutz" in the 2nd scoop trench (at lower left in photo ) shows that it is brighter than anything else in the image, but it's still not clear what it is. In case it is debris from MSL, a nearby area of the same sandy ripple will be imaged by MAHLI to determine whether similar debris is present there. If not, the plan is to scoop that target. MAHLI images of other potential scoop targets were also planned, along with Mastcam, ChemCam, and other observations. It was my last shift as ChemCam PEL, and I was glad that we were able to squeeze in another instrument characterization activity, intended to determine the best gain setting for RMI imaging. The results of this test will be used to improve the quality of future RMI images.

Less than half of the ChemCam data acquired on Sol 66 have been received so far, but it looks like the activities we planned before the decontamination heating went well. So we requested another titanium calibration target observation in Sol 67, and the theme groups requested a new 3x3 LIBS raster on the rock "Pearson" and 2 RMI images of the 2nd scoop trench. Initially, the RMI images were planned in the early afternoon, so that the images would be returned to Earth right away and be used to study the bright spot seen in a Right Mastcam image of the scoop trench. But concerns that the bright spot is more material shed from the flight system, and that some of this terrestrial material is in the scooped dirt, led the tactical team to decide to dump the scoop and take MAHLI images of the scoop targets first. This freed up enough time in the plan that we could combine the ChemCam observations into a single block, which we preferred to save time. Because the MAHLI images replaced the RMI images as the data needed to determine what is causing the bright spot, this change was approved. It looks we will not continue scooping activities on Sol 68, as we don't want to put any terrestrial material into CHIMRA, and certainly not in the analytical instruments!

The Sol 66 plan includes the second scooping activity on the same sandy ripple, again intended to be used to flush out the CHIMRA system, removing any remaining terrestrial contamination. This won't take the entire sol, and there were a couple blocks of time available for science observations. So it was a busy day (actually night, with my shift starting at 5 PM PDT) for the science team, preparing and prioritizing potential observations. I was focused on ChemCam again as PEL, and our top priority was to run our decontamination heaters for 2 hours. We have been doing this approximately weekly to ensure that gases released within the rover body when it was warm (during cruise to Mars) have not condensed on ChemCam's detectors. Ideally, LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) measurements of our titanium calibration target should be acquired soon before and after the decontamination heating, to see whether instrument performance has changed. The problem with doing this is that just cooling down and turning on the instrument takes about 40 minutes, so fitting it in with other science observations isn't easy. But the team recognized the importance of this instrument maintenance and it made it into the plan along with Mastcam, MAHLI, DAN, RAD, and REMS observations. Hopefully it will all go well and we will be able to squeeze in another (post-decontamination) ChemCam observation of the titanium target in the Sol 67 plan.

There was applause again today when the successful completion of the
first CHIMRA
sieving and processing of soil was

announced . While it was expected that it would take months to get
through all of these "first-time" activities, this latest achievement
reminds me of how complex MSL is. There are still many first-time
activities ahead!

I served as ChemCam Payload Element Lead for the first time today, so
was a bit nervous about my ability to handle this new responsibility.
It ended up being easy, as very few science observations were added to
the already full plan, and the ChemCam team was released early.

After much analysis and discussion, the MSL project decided that the bright object on the ground is benign and that we can therefore proceed with the long-anticipated first sample manipulation activities . These activities are complex enough that there was not room in the Sol 64 plan for "opportunistic science," so the science team focused on activities to be included in the plans for future sols. I worked with the folks in charge of long-term planning to figure out when we can fit a ChemCam decontamination (heating) activity that should be done every week or so. It's looking like Sol 66 will work, but of course the plan may change...

When I arrived at JPL Monday evening, the discussion was still centered on the bright object seen the previous sol . The Sol 62 plan was revised late in the planning day to acquire more images of this object. The resulting Mastcam and RMI images show that is not a screw, as initially feared, but it's not clear yet what it is. While it is being studied further, a Mastcam mosaic was planned for Sol 63 instead of continuing arm activities.

I was glad to see that the scooping activities had been going well, including vibration of the first scoopful of soil . We are all hoping that the arm activities will resume soon and that the bright object is benign.

I took a break over the weekend to visit my family. While I was away, MSL successfully acquired its first scoop of Martian soil, from the wind ripple we have been working at for several sols . "Mars time" (the local time at MSL's location) and PDT are nearly the same again, so that the planning team is working overnight in Pasadena, while the rover is "sleeping." First shift begins around 5 PM PDT, and the second shift is working the graveyard shift. I'll be working first shift this week, so I need to get used to working late again!

The data from Sol 58 show that the ripple is suitable for scooping, so the Sol 59 plan includes a short rover drive to position the rover near a part of the ripple that has not been disturbed yet. The MAHLI images of the wall are beautiful and show that the interior of the ripple is mostly fine-grained sand. The grain sizes in the ripple are just what is needed to test and clean the CHIMRA. The layer of coarse grains on the surface of the ripple is thin and is covered by only a thin layer of dust.

We expect to get a large volume of data through MRO in the afternoon of Sol 59, so planning was relatively easy. We were able to include all of the science observations requested by the team, including the first half of a "long-baseline stereo" Mastcam mosaic. The Sol 59 drive should place the rover 1.1 m to the north of the current location, which will provide a nice offset for stereo images taken looking east. We targeted an interesting area south of Glenelg that we don't plan to visit before leaving this area, so this is a good opportunity to image it before descending to Glenelg.

The first wheel scuff went well , so we planned APXS (elemental chemistry) and MAHLI (close-up imaging) of the floor and sidewall of the scuff, as well as an undisturbed area just to the right of the scuff. These data should allow us to decide whether the ripple is suitable for the scooping using CHIMRA . We also planned REMS wind observations during the afternoon, the time of day we expect to deliver samples to the analytical instruments inside the rover body. High winds would make sample transfer difficult, as small soil grains might be blown away as they are dropped into the sample inlets .