As the SOWG Chair, I am leading the planning for Sol 513 of the mission. Our main focus for this sol is to capture a full set of MAHLI images of the rover’s wheels. To ensure that the entire surfaces are imaged thoroughly, we will take these images between short drives, allowing the wheels to be turned slightly. This process requires a significant amount of power, so our primary concern in planning for the day was to avoid depleting the rover’s battery too much.
Incorporating post-drive science tasks into our plan for the day was still possible despite this constraint. We planned to conduct a DAN active measurement to detect hydrogen below the surface, a Navcam cloud search, and necessary imaging to plan targeted observations for Sol 514. The timing for sending command sequences to the rover is crucial, as they must be sent by about 5 PM Pacific time. To ensure that everything could be finalized in time, planning for Sol 513 began 1.5 hours earlier than usual.
It is worth noting that yesterday, planning started even earlier, with me driving into work as it was still dark outside. Despite the early start and power constraints, the team remained dedicated to conducting valuable scientific investigations and ensuring the success of the mission.
