Rover Moves Forward on Sol 685: Environmental Monitoring, Driving and Imaging on Zabriskie Plateau

On Sol 685, the rover on Mars will undergo a pre-drive science block followed by 2.5 hours of driving, as well as post-drive imaging for targeting. During the pre-drive science block, the rover will conduct environmental monitoring tasks such as ChemCam passive spectroscopy of atmospheric composition and a Mastcam measurement of atmospheric dust opacity. The team is expecting the drive to cover approximately 60 meters due to the loose sand in the area.

After navigating through the ripples, the rover will ascend the Zabriskie Plateau, which is named after a sandstone formation near Shoshone, California. However, tomorrow will be a restricted sol as the team waits for data to be transmitted back to Earth. Following this, they are anticipating engaging in possible contact science activities and more driving over the weekend.

It’s important to note that these planned rover activities may change due to various factors such as the Martian environment, communication relays and the status of the rover itself.