Early Start and Power Conservation: Planning Sol 513 for Mars Rover Mission

As the SOWG Chair, I am currently 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 achieve this, we will take images in between short drives, allowing us to turn the wheels slightly and image the entire surfaces thoroughly. This process requires a significant amount of power, so our top priority in planning for the day was to conserve energy and avoid depleting the rover’s battery too much.

We were able to incorporate some post-drive science tasks into our plan for Sol 513, including a DAN active measurement to detect hydrogen below the surface, a Navcam cloud search, and imaging to plan targeted observations for Sol 514. The timing for sending command sequences to the rover is critical, as they must be sent by about 5 PM Pacific time. To ensure that everything could be finalized on time, planning for Sol 513 began 1.5 hours earlier than usual.

Yesterday, planning started even earlier when it was still dark outside as I drove into work. Despite the early start and power constraints, our team remains dedicated to conducting valuable scientific investigations and ensuring the success of the mission.